1-800-Genocide

I came across this post on the Enough! Project blog:

"The condemnation expressed by U.S. government officials over the recent violence in Sudan must translate into meaningful action toward those most culpable, to force them to rethink their calculations. Call the White House at 1-800-GENOCIDE and urge Obama to impose consequences against the government of President Bashir. Follow these easy steps:
1. Dial 1-800-GENOCIDE to connect to the White House
2. State your name and which state you are from
3. Urge President Obama to impose serious consequences on Khartoum: Expand sanctions, freeze the assets of key Sudanese leaders, investigate war crimes, and increase civilian protection"

Now Im not quite sure how to react to this as I am totally flabbergasted by the concept of a citizen's direct hotline to the executive government office. If this is actually a thing, then I am quite impressed. However, a part of me feels like this is some grand joke that the White House formulated to relieve itself of the pressure put on it by civil society. Like when a girl gives a fake phone number to guy to avoid the awkwardness and potential conflict arising from a straight up rejection. Point 3 seems to suggest that you get to talk to Obama......Now I imagine that is not true, but would be pretty awsome. Just like Kagame's heavy personal usage of social networking media to communicate with his citizens (link/link).