President Obama will be a star attraction of many Democratic candidates’ campaign stops this fall, a White House spokesman predicted on Monday.
“It’s been at least a generation, if not longer, since you had a two-term president in his final year in office in demand by party leaders, including by the party nominee, on the campaign trail,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest said.
“And President Obama does have a strong track record and a deep reservoir of support all across the country, and not just among Democrats, to make a strong case that would benefit Democrats up and down the ballot,” Earnest continued.
Earnest said Democrats are eager to have Obama stump for them because he is an excellent campaigner.
“And there is a reason that many Democrats are hopeful that President Obama will be quite visible in this campaign,” Earnest said. “They’re hopeful because he is good at making the case for the kinds of values that Democrats care about.”
Obama is also eager to get out there, Earnest said.
He “is good at it,” Earnest said. “This is a strength of his.”
But it goes beyond having fun on the campaign trail, Earnest added.
“[T]his isn’t just a hobby; this is his life’s work; this is his passion,” Earnest said. “And so the president is not just looking forward to having some fun on the campaign trail. He is also looking forward to making an argument and making a case, because he understands the stakes are quite high.”
Obama isn’t necessarily “spoiling for a fight,” either, Earnest said. But the president won’t back down either.
“Well, he’s certainly is not going to shrink from it. I’ll tell you that,” Earnest said.
