March 28, 2024 - 4:00pm
Reports are surfacing that yet another former president is entering the political fray. Ahead of a fundraising event for Joe Biden in New York this evening featuring Barack Obama, the New York Times ran a story on the former president holding regular calls with the incumbent, as well as senior White House staff. “This level of engagement illustrates Mr. Obama’s support for Mr. Biden,” the article reads, “but also what one of his senior aides characterized as Mr. Obama’s grave concern that Mr. Biden could lose to former president Donald J. Trump.”
Since Time magazine ran an extensive piece about Biden’s presidential campaign remaining stuck in the mud — a kind of dropping of the mask by the Democratic establishment — CNN, the Washington Post, and USA Today have all run coverage on Obama’s new involvement in the campaign.
The media story has been centred on America’s greatest political talent coming to rescue an old ally — and saving democracy in the process. The problem is that this narrative implies that Biden, the President of the United States and a veteran with five decades of political experience, is unable to manage the pressure on his own.
In the context of the chip on the shoulder Biden carries towards his Democratic predecessor in the Oval Office, this is revealing. Axios recently reported that the President uses Obama as a yardstick to measure his accomplishments. “Obama would be jealous,” Biden reportedly says when referencing an achievement. Some of the resentment no doubt goes back to Obama choosing Hillary Clinton over Biden — his own vice president — as the presumptive Democratic nominee in 2016.
This dynamic extends beyond the two presidents, as White House staff and the Biden campaign team are also reportedly feeling the weight of Obama’s entrance. “We do have too many Obama people who don’t care about Joe Biden,” a former White House official told Insider.
Putting aside the rivalries, the unanswered question is what difference the ex-president can make. While adding his celebrity wattage to the ticket is certainly helpful, Obama has no electoral experience dealing with the political phenomenon that is Donald Trump.
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SubscribeJoe Biden has a campaign? Colour me shocked!
Another shocker. Biden isn’t empowered the way most presidents are. Who would’ya thunk.
You take this seriously? Really?
I knew you were gullible, Jimbo, but this fluff piece has nothing new to say. Surely even you can see that?
Biden in another landslide!
It makes perfect sense that you identify with Biden!
He’s a no-brainer!
“Jimbo” is a lot closer to the action than you are. IIRC he lives in North America – Canada I think. It’s hard to understand the USA if you haven’t lived there – after which it doesn’t seem as crazy as you originally thought. It’s also likely to shift your thinking about how we do things in the UK.
There can’t be *another landslide*, since there wasn’t one in 2020.
Anyone who’s seen a Joe Biden speech in the last year already knows he’s not capable of running his own campaign/whelk stall/brewery event.
Do at least try to come up with something remotely sensible.
I guess you missed the State of the Union speech which terrified the far right by completely destroying their dumb narrative. Trump, on the other hand, makes constant gaffes. He seems to think that Biden beat Obama a few years ago. But the bar is so pathetically low for Trump that nobody seems to even notice when he says ludicrous things.
2020 was a historic landslide in popular vote terms and a very healthy win for Biden in the anti-democratic electoral college. 2024 will be even bigger as the MAGA lunatics die off and Trump alienates everybody else every time he opens his dumb mouth.
You do like exaggerated language. I could imagine you as a Ricky Gervais side character: slowly-dissolving alcoholic suburban newspaper hack.
I know my audience…
I’m sure you do. Just as sad and vacuous as yourself. Please get some help.
Apologies to the serious posters for feeding the troll
Not too smart are you, slick?
That’s ok, I cater to the less intelligent too, although some stuff is going to go right over your head, like my last comment seems to have done!
This thinking in 16 is exactly why Trump won. Keep division and kicking the “ deplorables “ as your hope to win in 24. It’s the border , inflation and crime the voters will show up for.
You do know that inflation and crime are way down, right? Oh, you didn’t? I guess you only watch Fox News, eh, sport?
The border would be much more secure if it wasn’t for Trump encouraging the wimps in the GOP to block Biden’s spending plans. Just another example of that fat old clown only caring about himself and you rubes buying his crap.
The old “ Fox News” defense. Try some basic Econ 101 young ignorant
I think it also shows that Obama is an arrogant never really was who wants the power again.
Because this puppet theater director already has it
I believe President Biden can use his 2020 campaign strategy and stay in his basement, and now post-pandemic, go to the beach in Delaware (hopefully without classified documents in the beach bag.
Trump’s campaign is not a strategy rather its reactions to all the criminal charges and trials. Down ballot there are issues of candidate quality and broken Republican State committees. Biden can spend money on adds, Trump spends money fighting charges.
Team Obama has to content with Jill Biden and that’s about it. President Biden is in change of only some of the Presidency. Former President Obama kept a residence in Washington DC for a reason and that is to keep close to the center of power. Many Democrats love him and adore Michele Obama, who if she ran for President could be second President elected by acclimation (the first being George Washington).
Perceptions of President Biden’s handling of most key areas (inflation, immigration, crime, etc.) are underwater. He does get high marks for abortion protection and that will drive some voters. I predict that President Biden will be one of the least popular Presidents ever re-elected.
I predict that you and AssPain Bolshevist will be crying big salty tears on November 6th.
On every other issue – inflation, wars, immigration – Biden and the Donkeys are far behind, usually by 20+ points in the polls. Abortion is the only one where they are ahead – and that’s because they favor an anti-democractic federal response rather than the federalist democratic one that SCOTUS has delivered.
Years back, someone in the know whispered to me that Obama is the shadow guiding Biden’s hand. Biden kept Obama’s crew. Then she added, not without merit; Obama knows his craft.
In a democracy, the issue with unseen powers lies in their legitimacy. Obama, to me, echoes Hoover—both masters of their domain, orchestrating from the shadows, crafting their images with the press.
Trump shares traits with FDR. Each has an eye for the populist heart of a matter, making swift political moves, a boon for rallying the masses.
Hoover’s tentative steps against the deflation of the Great Depression stand in relief against Biden’s aggressive push against the inflation in pandemic’s wake. Yet, critiques haunt them both, for not grasping the full breadth and urgency of their economic tempests.
Biden’s aggressive push against the inflation in pandemic’s wake
Only if one thinks that passing massive, unnecessary bills that are mere pay-offs to your supporters is somehow fighting inflation, rather than fueling inflation.
Obama never left Washington (literally – he’s kept a residence there unlike any other modern President) or the White House. His former staff are well ensconced including Kamala Harris – who he picked as VP (remember he also had the hots for her to the dismay of Michelle). Joe Biden has never had an original thought or idea in his life. He’s been blind-walking the presidency from day one. Obama’s just anxious he won’t have a fourth term.
My only reaction to the main essay was to wonder what took them so long to come to the conclusion that Biden isn’t running the White House. He isn’t even running his marriage or his trips to the ice cream shop.
Obama has been running the White House via his selected staff since 2021. We are just waiting for the second shoe to drop and see who the Dems replace Biden with at their Convention. My money is on Michelle, who will also be essentially a proxy.
*The bigger picture here points to the obvious: as President and leader of his party, Biden is, at least in theory, the source of all top-level political strategy decision-making, including for the election campaign. Obama stepping in indicates that this is no longer entirely true.*
It hasn’t been true since Inauguration Day 2021. The King of Kalorama (BHO) has been running a shadow third term this entire time. Biden is a sock puppet, to put it bluntly. As Obama famously said himself, “Never underestimate Joe’s ability to f*** things up.”
Only the hardcore Dems like Champagne Socialist believe that Biden has the bandwidth or accomplishments to be re-elected handily. That’s why the Dems are furiously relying on lawfare and likely planning massive “fortification of the vote” come November. Plus a goodly amount of mostly peaceful rioting and violence should they get their lunch eaten at the polls.
Biden will not be the Democratic nominee. Obama will fire his beard at the Democratic convention. He will probably pick Michelle Obama to be the nominee. The reason that it has not already happened is that he does not want a party primary or Kamala Harris as incumbent president thus paving the way for Michelle Obama. I hope he likes the emasculating role of first gentleman so inferior to grey eminence and power behind the throne.
“America’s greatest political talent”, Obama ??? this is hilarious