2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumWhy Obama waited
Politico:From the start of the 2016 cycle, two things were clear: First, Barack Obama was fully behind Hillary Clinton and more than happy to raise her spirits with cheerful out-of-the-blue phone calls during the primary seasons many low ebbs; and second, that he wasnt prepared to endorse her publicly until she proved she could win without his help.
Sitting presidents often endorse their favorites much earlier in the primary process. But Obama and his team deferred an announcement, a half dozen top officials close to the 2008 rivals told POLITICO, to protect the president and Clinton from a backlash born of belief that the election was rigged.
It was a characteristically cool political calculation: Loyalty was a powerful motive to jump sooner, but preserving Obamas credibility with rebellious progressives was even more important.
Gee, I can remember people claiming he was "signaling his support for Sanders".
NanceGreggs
(27,815 posts)... and well done!!!
Mass
(27,315 posts)They are often wrong or misleading (after all, some of these people may want a job in a future Clinton administration).
Also, is it possible that Obama understood the importance of letting Sanders finish the primary season. After all, he was doing fairly well, even if he lost at the end (that is called basic decency and I am not surprised Obama understood what it means).
Skwmom
(12,685 posts)his backhanded compliment...
And when you look at the DNC actions , what happened primary after primary, touting the Superdelegates since day one to suppress the Bernie vote, LYING about his record and involvement in the civil rights movement, putting the fingers on the scale, the damn dog and pony shows put on by her corporate buddies, the changing online articles to go from neutral to dissing Bernie, and on and on, and the lies and smears against Bernie and his supporters (e.g., NV) only a complete idiot would fail to realize the damn thing was rigged.
democrattotheend
(11,605 posts)The president and vice president have never been among those people. So I take Bernie at his word that Obama and Biden have been fair to him. Why do you doubt him?
brooklynite
(94,602 posts)--Bernie Sanders
bigwillq
(72,790 posts)Until the primaries were winding down.
DemocratSinceBirth
(99,710 posts)I never try to convert most people, only the people I like. What would it take to convert you to a Clintonite?
bigwillq
(72,790 posts)But I do hope that Clinton wins in November. Under the current system, either Clinton or Trump will be elected president in Nov and I would rather it be Clinton.
That's the best I can do.
auntpurl
(4,311 posts)and let the Democratic process play out. The president should be loyal to the party, not to one politician. Let people have their say. Democrats chose Hillary in overwhelming numbers, so Pres Obama can endorse her without worrying he stifling anyone's opinion.
bemildred
(90,061 posts)And then when the time came, he managed the transition to the general, is managing it.
That's his style.