Why aren't Obama and Clinton speaking out on the mess Democrats have gotten themselves into? Jen Psaki tells us:
While former President Barack Obamadid post on X in the days following the first presidential debate and former President Bill Clinton did as well, both Democratic leaders have largely remained out of the spotlight.
So where have they been?
Exactly where they should be right now: behind the scenes, acting as sounding boards with other party leaders like former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, donors and members of Congress.
Because while both Obama and Clinton are widely respected elder statesmen, there are several reasons why they can’t just put an end to the re-election drama surrounding President Joe Biden and tell the party who should be the nominee in August.
For one thing, the Democratic Party — including party insiders — do not like being told what to do (most of the time). Hillary Clinton didn’t win the nomination in 2008 even though she had the strong endorsement of her husband. And the progressive wing of the party didn’t love it when Obama came close to endorsing Clinton during the primary process in 2016.
A clear and unified statement could certainly tamp down some of the speculation about whether the party should take a different route for the nominee — and that uncertainty is one of the biggest challenges right now. But while both men are generational talents as politicians, even Obama has been out of the electoral game for 12 years. County, district and state maps as well as voter outreach strategies have changed a lot since then.
Obama and Clinton swooping in to tell everyone what to do could backfire in other ways as well. As imperfect (to put it mildly) as this moment is in the Democratic Party, it’s important that any debate within the party is conducted fairly and legitimately.
I don’t know what is going to happen, and with every day that passes it feels more likely Biden will hold on. But once a final decision ismade, Democrats will need all the party unity they can muster. And that means Obama and Clinton are smart to wait until the question is settled to weigh in. That’s the moment when they can maximize their collective impact. This may happen next week, or the week after, or maybe at the convention. But once it does happen, the focus can return back to Donald Trump and the true threat America is still facing.
Clinton and Obama remain two of the most popular politicians in the Democratic Party, and their voices will be needed on the campaign trail.
