Obamas return to the White House and possibly the campaign trail
'The Five' panelists react to former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama returning to the White House.
There is a former president, extremely popular with his base, who could galvanize voters in key senate and house races in states he won both times he ran for president. His support transcends all factions of his party, and he has a history of going out on a limb to endorse candidates in key races. While the opposing party cannot stand the guy on the stump, he has shown time and again he can rally large crowds and deliver cutting remarks that are able to break through even the most mundane of political races.
That former president sitting on the sidelines is not Donald Trump, who has traversed the country supporting his MAGA candidates with rallies in multiple battleground states, but instead his immediate predecessor. With less than a month until the election, the most popular living former president, Barack Obama, is largely and unfortunately M.I.A on the campaign trail.
George W. Bush famously said that once he left office, he planned to keep a low profile and not criticize his successors like some former presidents had done. In fact, President Bush has not addressed a Republican convention in-person since he accepted his own re-nomination in 2004. Yet, Barack Obama, who never made a similar pledge, has been quite active in recent years on both the airwaves and campaign trail. He’s spoken at both Democratic national conventions, cut television ads for candidates, and even held rallies just last year for Terry McAuliffe, the Democratic nominee for Governor of Virginia.
According to Ballotpedia, since 2018 President Obama has made 609 endorsements of candidates. In 2018, he made the announcements starting on August 1st, endorsing up and down the ballot, including for candidates seeking federal and statewide office and even running for state legislatures.
FORMER PRESIDENT OBAMA TO HIT MIDTERMS CAMPAIGN TRAIL ON BEHALF OF FELLOW DEMOCRATS
While his former running mate occupies the Oval Office and is ramping up his own midterms campaign push, many of the legislative accomplishments President Obama achieved face uncertainty if Republicans are successful in flipping control of Congress in November.
Some GOP Senators, including Ron Johnson and Rick Scott, have indicated their willingness to once again attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act, one of the former president’s key legacies. At a time when public support of Obamacare stands at a record high, and congressional Democrats enjoy a huge advantage when it comes to voters’ views for which party is better on health care issues, now is the perfect time for the former president to barnstorm the country on the campaign trail for our candidates who are stuck within the margin of error.
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With less than a month to go, the most critical, and tightly contested senate and gubernatorial races are falling into place. According to the latest Real Clear Politics polling averages, the GOP senate candidate is leading in Florida, Wisconsin, Nevada, North Carolina, and Ohio, but no candidate is ahead by more than four points at this point. President Obama won each of these states in 2008 and all but North Carolina again in 2012. His standing with voters of all stripes has only improved since he left office, and his presence on the trail would be much-welcomed by candidates within striking distance of their GOP opponents.
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I am sure the former president has his reasons for staying mostly on the sidelines in 2022. However, as polls in key districts tighten, and as many election-denying candidates lead in narrow races, we need the former president, and the former first lady, to hit the campaign trail with a full throated defense of our democratic values.
When he announced for president in 2008, then-Senator Obama said "this campaign can’t only be about me. It must be about us. It must be about what we can do together." In 2022, these campaigns still must be about what we can do together–our candidates, our voters, and, yes, Barack Obama.
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