To Help Democrats in the Fall, Obama May Stay Away (NYT)
Does Obama's track record influence your voting plans for the fall?
Apparently El Presidente has lost some luster over the last couple of years.As lunch was served in the Roosevelt Room of the White House one day last week, President Obama assured the nine Democratic members of Congress sitting around the table that he would do anything he could to help them survive their fall elections.
Even, he said, if it meant staying away.
“You may not even want me to come to your district,” Mr. Obama said, according to guests, nearly all of whom hold seats that Republicans are aggressively seeking.
Apparently, they'd rather campaign on benefits nobody's seen yet, and trot the old "lesser of two evils" horse out of the barn, than rely on Obama's stellar track record.It is a vivid shift from the last two elections, when Mr. Obama was the hottest draw for Democratic candidates in red and blue states alike. And it highlights the tough choices Democrats face as they head toward Election Day with the president’s approval ratings depressed, Republicans energized, the economic slump still lingering and two veteran House Democrats now facing public hearings on ethics charges.
Democrats who are on the ballot hope to make the election about issues other than Mr. Obama, including the benefits to their constituents of the health care and stimulus legislation and the argument that voting Republican means a return to the policies of President George W. Bush.
Does Obama's track record influence your voting plans for the fall?