San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Anxious Dems look to Obama for lift at polls
COLLEGE PARK, Ga. — Former President Barack Obama returned to the campaign trail in Georgia, using his first stop on a multistate tour to frame the 2022 midterm elections as a referendum on democracy and to urge voters not to see Republicans as an answer to economic problems
It was a delicate balance, as the former president acknowledged the pain of inflation and tried to explain why President Biden and Democrats shouldn’t take all the blame as they face the prospects of losing narrow majorities in the House and Senate when votes are tallied Nov. 8. But Obama argued that Republicans who are intent on making it harder for people to vote and — like former President Donald Trump — are willing to ignore the results, can’t be trusted to care about Americans’ wallets either.
“That basic foundation of our democracy is being called into question right now,” Obama told more than 5,000 voters gathered Friday night outside Atlanta. “Democrats aren’t perfect. I’m the first one to admit it . ... But right now, with a few notable exceptions, most of the GOP and a whole bunch of these candidates are not even pretending that the rules apply to them.”
With Biden’s approval ratings in the low 40s, Democrats hope Obama’s emergence in the closing weeks of the campaign boosts the party’s slate in a tough national environment. He shared the stage with Sen. Raphael Warnock, who faces a tough re-election fight from Republican Herschel Walker, and Stacey Abrams, who is trying to unseat Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, who defeated her narrowly four years ago.
Obama traveled Saturday to a rally in Michigan before a planned evening appearance in Wisconsin, with more stops this week in Nevada and Pennsylvania.
The campaign blitz is an opportunity for Obama to do something he was unable to do in two midterms during his presidency: help Democrats succeed in national midterms when they already hold the White House. For his party, it’s an opportunity to leverage Obama’s rebound in popularity since his last midterm defeats in 2014. Their hope is that the ex-president can sell arguments that Biden, his former vice president, has struggled to land.
“Obama occupies a rare place in our politics today,” said David Axelrod, who helped shape Obama’s campaigns from his days in the Illinois state Senate through two presidential elections. “He obviously has great appeal to Democrats. But he’s also wellliked by independent voters.”
Obama tried to show off that reach. The first Black president drew a hero’s welcome from a majority Black audience, and he offered plenty of applause lines for Democrats. But he saved much of his argument, especially on the economy, for moderates, independents and casual voters, including a defense of Biden, who Obama said is “fighting for you every day.”
“What is their answer? ... They want to give the rich tax cuts,” Obama said of the GOP. “That’s their answer to everything. When inflation is low, let’s cut taxes. When unemployment is high, let’s cut taxes. If there was an asteroid heading toward Earth, they would all get in a room and say, you know what we need? We need tax cuts for the wealthy. How’s that going to help you?”