As he walked onto the stage during the NAACP’s candidate forum in Detroit last week, former Vice President Joe Biden said, to paraphrase, “You know me. I’m Joe. I was with Barack.”
Biden is relying on his familiarity, as he should: It’s helped him maintain his lead in the crowded Democratic primary field. But his connection to former President Barack Obama won’t be enough to secure the Democratic nomination. In fact, it might hurt him in the long run.
Obama’s name has scarcely been mentioned since the primary race began, and it’s usually Biden who tosses it around. The other candidates seem hesitant to embrace the former president, who is beloved by most Democratic voters and is largely considered the party’s most popular two-term president since Franklin D. Roosevelt, as Politico’s Bill Scher notes.
In the first round of primary debates, Barack Obama’s name was uttered only twice: once by Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who mentioned Obama’s healthcare achievements, and another time by Rep. John Delaney, who bragged about the award he once received from the Obama administration. Their hesitation could be part of an effort not to aid Biden’s campaign by making Obama’s legacy a frequent topic, or perhaps it’s because Democrats are unsure whether Obama’s incremental progression and timid governing style will help the party beat President Trump.
Kamala Harris’ boost in popularity after she attacked Biden in the first round of primary debates indicates that Democrats are looking for a bold candidate who’s willing to meet Trump’s aggression. They want someone who will prosecute Trump and put him in his place, and Obama’s friendly demeanor, and now Biden’s, won’t cut it.
In regard to policy, most of the candidates on the primary debate stage will tout policies to the left of Obama. “Medicare for all,” endorsed by all but a few of the candidates, is a radical departure from the relatively gradual progression Obamacare introduced. South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg summed up this sentiment well when he declared, “It’s time to walk away from the politics of the past toward something totally different.”
Obama certainly got the ball rolling. They’ll give him credit for that, as Elizabeth Warren did when she praised Obama’s work on police reform and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. But now Democrats want someone to pick up where he left off and move the party forward in an aggressive, uncompromising manner. They want innovation, not maintenance.
Obama can help Biden when it comes to familiarity: He’s a household name with a clean record, and in a packed field, name recognition goes a long way. But when it comes to policies, familiarity might just breed contempt.
It’ll be up to Biden to defend his record, and thus Obama’s, on the debate stage Wednesday night. But doing so might just sink his candidacy.
