No, Barack Obama would never sit this election out, but I also feel he would wait a bit longer to make his endorsement of Kamala Harris official. The New York Post published a damning piece about how the former president feels this ticket doesn’t have what it takes to win. The sub-plot of this whole circus is the hallowing out of the Democratic Party under the Obama presidency; they have no bench.
Democrats had to pick a senile old white dude from Delaware because everyone else flamed out in 2020, and a hopelessly inexperienced California senator as their standard-bearers who benefitted greatly from unorthodox voting methods due to a pandemic to win. With Biden exiting the race on July 21, it’s Kamala’s show, though no one has ever voted for her in a Democratic primary. Obama’s calculation was like his behind-the-scenes effort to pressure Joe to end his re-election bid: make some splashes but no big waves to make it seem like he was Brutus, as with Biden’s case, or endorsing a coronation regarding Kamala. The Obamas didn’t comment for the NY Post, which probably sped up the timeline for this endorsement. It was staged and awkward, but the point got across (via NBC News):
Earlier this week, Michelle and I called our friend @KamalaHarris. We told her we think she’ll make a fantastic President of the United States, and that she has our full support. At this critical moment for our country, we’re going to do everything we can to make sure she wins in… pic.twitter.com/0UIS0doIbA
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) July 26, 2024
Former President Barack Obama endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for president Friday, just days after she launched her campaign after President Joe Biden withdrew from the race.
"Michelle and I couldn’t be prouder to endorse you and to do everything we can to get you through this election and into the Oval Office," Obama says in a video that shows Harris getting a call from the Obamas.
Michelle Obama says in the approximately one-minute video: "I can’t have this phone call without saying to my girl Kamala: I am proud of you. This is going to be historic."
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Democrats also don’t have much time. We’re less than 15 weeks from Election Day, and about a fifth of the electorate doesn’t have much to go on regarding Ms. Harris. The GOP must stay focused, define her quickly, and attack her record. MS. Harris’ appalling record and policy stances are enough to beat her. She owns the failed Biden agenda, and the immigration stuff must be hammered home. Don’t underestimate her, either. Stay focused. She’s eminently beatable.
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