Politico’s Glenn Thrush and Jonathan Allen:
he sense that Obama simply won’t sacrifice his brand, or image as a winner, for the greater Democratic good is widespread in Democratic circles. Over the past four years, he has led his party through the political wars, including some they didn’t want to fight, while managing to forge only a handful of new relationships with Democrats outside his tight circle. He’s toiled shoulder to shoulder with his party’s leaders, but just as assiduously distanced himself from his fellow Democrats to cultivate the image of bipartisanship or avoid the taint of single-digit congressional approval ratings.
These days, Obama’s messaging is strikingly in tune with that of down-ballot Democrats. Yet there’s a nagging sense among some headed to Charlotte that Obama is an enthusiastic Democrat who remains oddly unenthusiastic about other Democrats.
“I’ve been on Air Force One twice — with George W. Bush,” said one Democratic lawmaker, representing the sentiment of a half-dozen prominent Democrats interviewed by POLITICO.
Earlier today, Patrick Ruffini noted on Twitter that the DNC isn’t “showcasing” any of the Democrats’ rising stars or 2016 hopefuls, like Cuomo, O’Malley and Booker. He then noted that “The convention seems specifically designed so that no one not named Clinton or Biden could get traction.”
Is there so little oxygen in the Bank of America Stadium that only the President can breathe it?
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