Last updated on July 17th, 2023 at 06:43 pm
President Obama is making sure that his Democrats remain focused and together by delivering the message that the relevant contrast in 2016 is not between Sanders and Clinton, but between Democrats and Republicans.
Audio of President Obama on Glenn Thrush’s ‘Off Message’ podcast:
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Yeah. Yeah. I think — look, I’ve gotten to know Hillary really well, and she is a good, smart, tough person who cares deeply about this country, and she has been in the public eye for a long time and in a culture in which new is always better. And, you know, you’re always looking at the bright, shiny object that people don’t, haven’t seen before. That’s a disadvantage to her. Bernie is somebody who —although I don’t know as well because he wasn’t, obviously, in my administration, has the virtue of saying exactly what he believes, and great authenticity, great passion, and is fearless. His attitude is, “I got nothing to lose.”
GLENN THRUSH: Right.
PRESIDENT OBAMA: “I”— you know, “I’m here to help move the country forward.” And so I think it’s a healthy dynamic. So, to me, the relevant contrast is not between Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton, but relevant contrast is between Bernie and Hillary and Donald Trump and Ted Cruz and the vision that they’re portraying for the country and where they want to take us and how they think about everything from tax policy to immigration to foreign policy, and that gap is as wide as I’ve ever seen. You know, you think about it.
Obama was correct. The squabbling between Clinton and Sanders is not important when compared to the big goal of defeating the Republican nominee in 2016. The difference between the Democratic and Republican primaries is that Republicans are in the middle of burning down their own village with a political civil war. Democrats are unified on the big picture issues, but quibbling about how to best accomplish their goals.
The main objective remains to beat the Republicans and keeping the White House. The contrast that will win the 2016 election for Democrats isn’t embodied by Clinton or Sanders. That dispute is about a preference in messenger, not the message. On the economy, healthcare, immigration reform, and wages, there are light years of difference between Democrats and Republicans.
Whoever the nominee is on the Republican side will argue against immigration reform, against raising wages, against universal healthcare, but for tax cuts for the wealthy, more perks and tax breaks for corporations, and more US military involvement abroad.
Democrats already have the winning message. The Democratic Party isn’t fragmented. It is easy to get caught up in the back and forth between Clinton and Sanders, but the reality is that compared to the out of control tire fire that is the Republican Party, Democrats are strong, unified, and ready to win in 2016.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
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