President Obama Is Ready To Play Super Surrogate
Senator Sanders decision to suspend his campaign means former President Obama is about to get back into the campaigning spotlight.
Sources close to Obama and Biden say the two men have spoken “quite frequently,” in recent days as Biden prepares for the general election. Obama has apparently also maintained contact with Sanders in recently, report two sources with knowledge of the conversations.
Democrats across the country are also ready for his entry.
“IT IS TIME,” Doug Landry, a former Hillary Clinton aide, tweeted on Wednesday, along with a cartoon image of Obama as superman. “RELEASE THE SUPER SURROGATE.”
Sources say the former president is ready but that he and Biden are also conscious of the coronavirus pandemic dominating the country and changing the nature of politics.
“He’s eager to go,” said one source close to Obama. “He’s been waiting for this election for almost four years.”
Coronavirus also affects the basics of campaigning. Large rallies and handshakes won’t be possible, and Biden has been working for the last several weeks from an office in his basement.
“Like everyone else, Obama is going to have to appear on video or on television, but the biggest question is how?” one source said. “That’s all being ironed out.”
“No one has heard from him in a long time, and people will pay a lot of money to hear from him, even on a computer,” an anonymous long-time Obama ally said.
Throughout the primary, former president has consistently remained silent on the horse race and said he wouldn’t endorse a Democrat until after the primary is over, not even his own vice president.
Biden also said he told Obama not to endorse him. “I have to earn this on my own,” he said.
“Seeing Obama on the campaign trail should excite voters who’ve longed to see him weigh in on current issues and give Biden the needed push,” said Basil Smikle, former executive director of the New York State Democratic Party. “Obama would also remind voters of his competence while in office, creating a strong contrast between Trump and the Democratic alternative.”