Joe Biden must know he’s in trouble. After spending the past few years claiming to have the best record of any of his predecessors, Joe still has to lean on his former boss, Barack Obama, for help.
It turns out that Barack Obama met privately with Joe Biden earlier this summer at the White House, and it wasn’t just to talk about the weather or their children. Joe Biden needs Obama’s help; Joe Biden knows it, and Barack Obama knows it too.
According to the Washington Post, the two men had a private meeting in June, during which Obama cautioned Biden about President Trump, emphasizing that he is a “more formidable candidate” than several Democrats acknowledge. Now, I rarely agree with anything Barack Obama has said, but he’s definitely right in this case.
Sources say that Obama “voiced concern about Donald Trump’s political strengths — including an intensely loyal following, a Trump-friendly conservative media ecosystem and a polarized country — underlining his worry that Trump could be a more formidable candidate than many Democrats realize.”
The report noted that “During their lunch, Obama made it clear his concerns were not about Biden’s political abilities, but rather a recognition of Trump’s iron grip on the Republican Party.”
Perhaps he was being nice because Barack Obama is the same man who reportedly said, “Don’t underestimate Joe’s ability to f*** things up” and reportedly urged him not to run in 2016 and 2020.
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But I digress. Obama is clearly concerned enough about Biden’s ability to close the deal — or as the Biden campaign slogan says, “finish the job” — and is pledging to do everything he can to help. According to the report, Obama “promised to do all he could to help the president get reelected” and that this promise “was a welcome gesture for the White House at a time when Biden is eager to lock down promises of help from top Democrats.”
Obama adviser Eric Schultz confirmed that “Obama will tailor his campaign activity to maximize its effect.”
“We place a huge emphasis on finding creative ways to reach new audiences, especially tools that can be directly tied to voter mobilization or volunteer activations. We are deliberate in picking our moments because our objective is to move the needle,” Schultz said in a statement to The Post.
It sure sounds like Joe Biden is planning to use Barack Obama as his primary campaign surrogate to handle the dirty work of campaigning for him. While this may seem like a smart strategy because reports suggest that black voters aren’t particularly jazzed about voting for Biden and making Obama the face of the campaign could help, it’s actually an admission that Joe Biden still needs to ride on Obama’s coattails. At this point, Joe Biden has a presidential record to run on that should negate any need to rely on having Obama as a regular surrogate.
It’s also an admission that Joe Biden needs to rely on younger surrogates to do the job for him. We all know that Joe Biden is also old, not particularly healthy, and prone to gaffes and other embarrassing problems. Keeping Obama in the forefront as much as possible will minimize Biden’s need to campaign as aggressively as candidates are expected to.
Make no mistake about it; Joe Biden knows he needs a lifeline, and he thinks Barack Obama is it.
