Barack Obama sees it as a major task to prevent Donald Trump from coming to power. He is doing too little to achieve this – especially now when it is time to show his friend Joe Biden the realities.
The news about Barack Obama in recent years reads as follows: Obama writes a book about Obama. Obama raises millions in donations for the Obama Museum. Obama goes on a promotional tour for Obama memoirs. Obama produces documentaries. The Obamas make a podcast about the Obamas’ thoughts.
And on the people pages: The Obamas are invited by a billionaire to a yacht vacation in the Caribbean. The Obamas buy an eight million dollar villa in Washington. The Obamas buy a twelve million dollar villa on the island of Martha’s Vineyard. The Obamas’ fortune reaches 70 million dollars.
Barack Obama’s current profession: self-promoter
The 62-year-old’s post-presidency can essentially be reduced to this: Barack Obama is marketing his presidency. “Obama cashes in,” as they say in the USA. His profession: self-promoter. His wife Michelle, the former lawyer: self-promoter. Both are at the service of the Obama brand.
In doing so, he is following the example of what his predecessors did. They are building their “Presidential Library”, their museum. They are selling books. They are marketing their time in public office, to which they were elected by the American people. They are keeping a low profile politically and are above it all. Some have withdrawn completely (George W. Bush), others have become more involved (Bill Clinton), and yet others have been extremely involved (Jimmy Carter).
Obama is still the Democrats’ biggest star
Barack Obama’s reticence is in stark contrast to the wishes of his party. You don’t have to talk to Democrats in the most important states to see this, but it helps. “Where is Obama when you need him?” is a phrase that party members in the all-important swing states keep saying. Memories of his time are rosy (too rosy considering his rather mixed record). The desire for leadership is great. The feeling of being lost and panic is currently widespread. The Democrats are thirsting for Obama – or the Obamas. Barack is still the party’s biggest star. Right behind him: Michelle Obama.
An extraordinary situation has arisen these days: Obama’s successor Donald Trump has the best chance of becoming US President again because his successor Joe Biden is no longer able to hold the office in the eyes of most Americans. According to Obama (and half of Americans), Trump’s victory would be a catastrophe, a serious threat to American democracy and the world.
But Obama is holding back. He is making himself available to his “brother” Joe Biden as an advisor, according to the Washington Post. He is urging people not to underestimate Trump’s strength. But he only says publicly: “Everyone has a bad debate sometimes. No one knows that better than me. But it’s still a choice between a man who has always fought for the little people and one who only thinks about himself.”
It is not the elite who want Biden’s withdrawal, but the broader population
If you apply Obama’s own standards (Trump as a threat to the world), this is no longer the moment to just work in the background. Joe Biden was a good president, perhaps even a better one than Obama himself, but he clearly misjudges the situation completely. It is not the elite that wants to oust him, as Biden claims, but the electorate. Every day, Americans see an old man who is no longer able to express his own thoughts clearly and do not trust him to last another four years in the most important job in the world. Every press event becomes a show, and when Biden confuses Putin and Zelensky, as he did at the press conference about the NATO summit on Thursday evening, a collective horror runs through the country and the media.
Because of Biden’s weakness, the Democrats could not only lose the White House, but also the Senate (and not win the House of Representatives). This would give Donald Trump a free hand to create the world the way he wants.
What Democrats need most these days is guidance and clarity, which Obama could provide. Everyone in the party publicly says how much they love Joe Biden, but disagrees about how to get him to step down. Some do it between the lines (Nancy Pelosi), others do it openly (George Clooney, Senator Peter Welch), and still others do it not at all (Governor Gavin Newson, Vice President Kamala Harris).
Biden’s team distrusts Obama
Obama’s position is not an easy one. Joe Biden and his team are suspicious of him. Obama had already given preference to Hillary Clinton over his own vice president once before, in 2016 – and was wrong. They see Obama as a representative of the elite, not the general public – and they are not entirely wrong.
Obama’s close associates are behaving differently. They are making their position clear. David Axelrod says “that Biden is losing the race and should now really think about what the right step is.” David Plouffe describes the moment after the disastrous TV debate as the “DEFKON1 moment of the Democrats,” meaning the highest alert level of a nuclear conflict.
Is the media going crazy in the case of Joe Biden?
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One can only hope that Obama, who has been seen in the White House more often recently, will actually speak plainly to Biden in a personal conversation. And that is not a: “Joe, don’t you want to think about it again? The facts and figures clearly speak against you.” It would be more like: “It’s over, Joe. You can go down in history as a great president, a bridge to a younger generation, which is what you wanted to be from the beginning. Or as a stubborn old goat who opens all the doors to Trump’s autocracy, which is something you – and all of us – abhor.”
What is needed now is “Change” and then “Hope”
No one is demanding that Obama become the face of the rebellion. But at a time when American democracy is at stake, the moment has come when there is no room for deliberation and hesitation, Obama’s hallmarks.
The man the Democrats trust most should – in everyone’s interest – bring all his weight to bear to help the party become a team that conveys new beginnings and enthusiasm.
Also “Hope and Change”. First “Change”, then “Hope”.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
