President Obama has followed the lead of Vice President Joe Biden by implying that Bernie Sanders has the edge over Hillary Clinton when it comes to “authenticity.”
In a new interview with Politico, Obama says Clinton came in as the presumptive front-runner, which means she is taking a more realistic approach when it comes to campaigning.
“I think Bernie came in with the luxury of being a complete longshot and just letting loose,” he said. “I think Hillary came in with the, both privilege and burden of being perceived as the frontrunner. And, as a consequence, you know, where they stood at the beginning probably helps to explain why the language sometimes is different.”
But Obama admitted that Sanders’ position in the race makes him more authentic.
“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,” Obama said. “His attitude is, ‘I got nothing to lose.'”
Obama also said Sanders has done a good job framing the debate by tapping into a basic question for Democrats, which is: “Why are we still constrained by the terms of the debate that were set by Ronald Reagan 30 years ago?”
Clinton has been hampered in the Democratic race by the sense that she’s far less authentic than Sanders, and is more likely to shift her position on various issues to win Democratic primary votes. Her sudden opposition to Obama’s trade agreement, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, her flip on gay marriage, and her tougher new position on guns are all examples of changes that have led many younger Democratic voters to choose Sanders over Clinton.
While Obama didn’t say Clinton is not authentic, his decision to credit Sanders with authenticity is likely to again feed that perception again.
Just a few weeks ago, Biden said that “no one questions Bernie’s authenticity” on issues like income inequality, implying there is room to question Clinton’s authenticity there.
Clinton later said she wasn’t bothered by Biden’s comment, and said he was trying to note that Clinton was working on foreign policy issues in the Obama administration instead of domestic issues.
“Well, the vice president, who I deeply respect and regard as a friend, went on to say, as I recall, you know, Hillary Clinton has a lot of very good economic policies that are thoughtful and on and on,” Clinton said in her defense.
