The recent round of Democratic debates uncovered an inconvenient truth that stunned left-wing pundits and liberal primary voters. With the exception of former Vice President Joe Biden, the field of 2020 Democrats are running against Barack Obama, not President Donald Trump.
Primary fights can be ugly, nasty, and the knives have come out with Democratic presidential hopefuls discovering the path to victory is through the former Obama sidekick. They’re also fast discovering that the Obama Administration policies worshipped by the biased media are roundly unpopular with moderate voters. The once-revered Obama legacy is now getting kicked around by members of his own party.
“I was sitting there on the stage with all of them wondering, why is — wow, why are they attacking the former president? And all I could think about was Clinton and Gore. Clinton, Gore, Clinton, Gore and what lessons were learned,” CNN host Don Lemon said. “If you think that Trump is the existential threat, why are you tearing each other down? I can understand that to some extent, but the bigger question is, why are you tearing down the most liked person in your party right now? Two people, when you say Obama, that brings Mrs. Obama and Mr. Obama — and President Obama into it. It just — I don’t understand it. It doesn’t make sense to me.”
While liberal zealots like Lemon fall to their knees at the Obama altar, cold, calculating political strategists recognize that Hillary got trounced running as a sort of Obama 2.0 candidate. She fell into the trap of agreeing with Obama’s blind followers in the media that everything the administration did was terrific. Everyday Americans did not agree.
“You can’t have it both ways. You invoke President Obama more than anybody in this campaign,” New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker said to Biden on the stage. “You can’t do it when it’s convenient and, then dodge it when it’s not.”
The facts are that voters saw a protracted war in the Middle East after Obama promised to bring the troops home. Not only did more of America’s sons and daughters lose their lives, but the rise of ISIS demonstrated the Obama-Biden team was clueless about foreign policy. Throw in a payoff to Iran, North Korea rising as a nuclear threat, and a NAFTA deal that Obama also reneged on fixing, it was eight years of disappointment, not hope. The “yes we can” slogan turned into “no he didn’t.”
“It seemed as if there were more attacks on the past policies and practices of the Obama administration than on today’s Trump administration,” notoriously liberal Politico stated about the recent debates. “Obama lost tonight. Apparently, his record is far too right-wing on the issues of health care and immigration. Kinda nuts to watch.”
It may be startling to Obama-era liberals that the previous administration has become the target — not President Trump — but the facts are that the Democratic Party has moved to the extreme left. The Obama Administration may have protected so-called “Dreamers”, but he deported illegal immigrants and did not give many lawful hearings.
“Did you say those deportations were a good idea or did you go to the president and say, ‘this is a mistake, we shouldn’t do it,’” New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said, attacking Biden. “Which one?”
The economy was basically in the toilet for eight years, producing low-wage jobs while manufacturing and mining industries left the country. Not only did the Obama Administration fail to deliver its initial “Hope” pledge, but it also brought on hopelessness, allowed Russian meddling, and sat on its hands as the Opioid Crisis destroyed lives and broke the hearts of families.
“Obama, of all people, is now a target for cannibalistic candidates from the left. No Democrat is more popular,” a recent New York Times op-ed states. “A Pew survey last year found that more people named him the greatest president of their lifetime than any other. He wasn’t attacked directly by name this week, but his policies — the audacity of common sense — were.”
The only candidate in the crowded field defending Obama is his number two, Biden. And even Biden isn’t trying to claim the previous administration owns the political high ground. His defense appears weak, out-of-touch, and confused at best.
“I’m proud of having served with him. I’m proud of the job he did. I don’t think there’s anything he has to apologize for. I think, you know, it kind of surprised me to the degree of the criticism,” Biden reportedly said. “The world has changed since Obama. Here’s the deal, this is about the future and taking the same kind of integrity and moving beyond it. Look, this is three years later, the world has changed.”
