“One of the key messages, says a White House official, is to ‘drain the drama and fear’ out of what the president is proposing. The message the president wants to send is that he’s not trying to trample on hunters and sportsmen. That’s a necessary precursor to any legislation because advocates for reform argue that the only way they will be able to build popular and political support is if they can split the NRA from its leadership. If the membership can be convinced that the president is not an ideologue trying to grab their guns, they will be less likely to believe the NRA leadership who paint him that way.” – John Dickerson, The battle against the clock on gun control [via slate.com/cbs.com]