President Obama plans trip to Las Vegas next week

President Obama will visit Las Vegas next week, the president's first trip since the beginning of his second term and the first trip to Nevada since his reelection.

Multiple media outlets, including The Associated Press, reported news about the visit, and the Las Vegas Review Journal said the visit would likely come Monday or Tuesday.

On Wednesday, White House press secretary Jay Carney said that the president would soon embark on a campaign-style effort to push his policy objectives.

"The president will travel. You can expect that," Carney said. "He will, as he does, make the case to the American people for the vision he laid out in his inaugural address, and the specifics that he will lay out at his State of the Union address on February 12." It's not clear what the president will discuss, although Carney hinted the president could be discussing economic policy. House Republicans passed a bill Wednesday providing a temporary suspension of the debt ceiling that also demanded that the Senate pass a budget.

"He believes very strongly that even when we’re talking about seemingly arcane matters of budget policy — things like debt ceilings and spending in the out-years, and budget caps and deficit or debt to GDP ratios — that when distilled into common language, these are the essential matters that Americans care about because they affect their livelihoods; they affect their capacity to find work and then find higher-paying work," Carney said. 

"Growth of the economy, growth in job creation is essential to the president’s vision. It is the core goal that informs everything he does on domestic policy and international policy."

Carney added that the president believed "that not only is it the right strategy to engage the American people, it is essential as a reflection of why he’s in this to begin with, to explain to them his vision and to listen to them about what their hopes are and the direction that they hope the country will move in."

The president could also advocate his recently unveiled gun-control platform during the stop. On Friday, Vice President Biden will be traveling to Richmond, Va., for an event promoting the plan. Earlier Thursday, the vice president held a Google Plus "hangout" to engage voters on the issue.

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Obama campaign to host conference on future plans

Former staff and volunteers for President Obama's successful reelection campaign will hold a conference in Washington over the inauguration weekend to solicit ideas on how to move forward with the sprawling organization developed over two presidential bids.

In an email to supporters Thursday, former Obama campaign manager Jim Messina said the group would host discussions with the goal of figuring out how to use the campaign's infrastructure and voter database to support the president in his second term.

"Issues like immigration, climate change, and gun violence will be debated over these next four years, and President Obama is ready to take them on — but he needs us by his side," Messina wrote. "Our goal is to help him get things done, but also to help change how things get done in Washington in the first place."

The event has been dubbed the "Obama Campaign Legacy Conference," and supporters across the country were encouraged to participate online. According to the campaign, participants will also have a voice in "the structure and leadership of the new organization." Links from the email also prompt supporters to continue to donate to the campaign, a sign that the president's record-shattering fundraising team could continue to be a major force in future cycles.

On Thursday, Politico reported that Messina would be opening the newly restructured group's office just blocks from the White House. While he is not expected to hold an official West Wing title, the former campaign manager will likely play a large political role in Obama's second term — especially with the expected retirement of senior adviser David Plouffe.

One possibility is that the campaign is converted into a super-PAC or issues-based nonprofit organization. Alternatively, the campaign could turn over its databases to the Democratic National Committee, although it has thus far been reluctant to allow other candidates access.

The former Obama campaign has already played a prominent role in policy debates since the president's reelection. During the debate over the "fiscal cliff," the campaign frequently emailed supporters in an attempt to rally them around the Democrats' tax plan. After a deal was struck, the president recorded a video celebrating the deal that was released in an email to the campaign's listserv.

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