The irony is that it was tougher to rent a car from Cerberus when it owned Alamo than to buy a semi-automatic. To rent a car one had to provide ID a drivers' license and get insurance coverage. To buy a gun? Cash and carry from the back of a station wagon at a gun show. No concerns about downstream liability or risk.
People who supported Obama felt like they formed a relationship that they were being spoken to. The way that campaign worked and the way he's worked during his first term is to make people feel like he's grasping their hand whether it's by tweeting or email moments after an event sometimes during an event. It makes people relate to him.