Obama boosts Harris, continues to influence Democratic Party

CHICAGO:

After Kamala Harris clinched the Democratic presidential nomination in an unprecedented partisan upset, she got some advice from former President Barack Obama: Tap into the pool of campaign talent out there. you can have anyone you want.

Within days, former Obama campaign manager David Plouffe and other high-profile alumni from Obama’s 2008 and 2012 campaign efforts joined her fledgling campaign.

“He just wanted to know that he was able to recruit whoever he thought he needed,” said a source familiar with the conversation between Obama and Harris.

Democrats have rallied around Harris as polls swing in the party’s favor, but a month ago some were openly questioning whether he was the right choice to beat Republican nominee Donald Trump when President Joe Biden was forced out of the race after a interruption of the performance.

Obama had been waiting to endorse Harris for several days, planning to stay above the fray in case there was a competitive nominating process. When it was clear no major challengers were coming, he jumped in.

Former Obama advisers, including Plouffe and 2012 deputy campaign manager Stephanie Cutter, quickly joined Harris’ campaign, bolstering the former president’s footprint in her political operation and underscoring his support for her and his continued influence in the party who now leads.

Obama, 63, the keynote speaker at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Tuesday, has known Harris, 59, for two decades, aides say. They first met at a fundraiser in California in 2004.

Both rose to prominence in local politics, she as a district attorney and he as a community organizer and state senator, before entering the U.S. Senate. Both have represented historic firsts – he as the first black president of the US and she as the first woman and the first black and South Asian to serve as vice president.

Harris was an early supporter of Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign when he was San Francisco’s district attorney, appearing at his campaign launch in Springfield, Illinois, and knocking on doors for him in front of the Iowa caucus that helped him win the nomination .

He admired her work in California, considering it tough, but caused a stir in 2013 by calling her “by far the best-looking attorney general in the country” at a fundraiser they both attended.

He called her later to apologize.

Obama supported Biden’s choice of Harris as vice president, according to a Democrat briefed on Biden’s discussions. He has been in regular contact since the 2020 election, aides say. The former president and his wife Michelle have shared dinner with Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, at least twice.

“She was an early supporter of his and he was an early admirer of hers, no question,” said David Axelrod, a longtime Obama adviser. “He won’t talk about someone he doesn’t know.”

Unsolicited advice

The move by Democrats not to proceed with a competitive nomination process following Biden’s resignation appeared to take the former president by surprise.

“Even though you asked for an open process and … the Democrats have put an open process in place, it seems like people feel very strongly that you should be our nominee,” Obama said in a conversation with Harris, according to a transcript released by his office.

A video of the Obamas warmly congratulating Harris on the call was released by the Harris campaign in a one-minute video that has been viewed by millions.

A Harris aide said the former president now reaches out to Harris unsolicited with advice, which the aide said was welcome, even if he doesn’t always take it. Harris spoke with Obama during the vice presidential selection process, the aide said.

“He has offered to support her campaign in any way he can — including political or strategic advice, fundraising and of course travel for the campaign to help get out the vote,” another Obama aide said.

Echoes of 2008

Echoes of Obama have been evident at Harris’ rallies since she became the Democratic standard-bearer, drawing crowds of thousands.

“They are very different political figures, but certainly the excitement around her is familiar to those of us who were there in 2008,” said Jamal Simmons, a former adviser to Harris.

Obama’s campaign was alive with the themes of hope and change. Harris’ campaign, with his running mate Tim Walz, the governor of Minnesota, has found energy in promoting joy.

Harris’ aide said she was pleased both Obamas were speaking at the conference. Michelle Obama, who called on Democrats in 2016 to go “high” when Republicans fell low with political upheavals, is hugely popular in the party and, according to polls, would have significant support for a presidential bid herself if she the desire to pursue one. He didn’t.

Meanwhile, former President Obama remains an almost mythical figure among Democrats.

His eight-year presidency is viewed with nostalgia, and his cultural status – he still publishes closely watched music lists and summer reading lists, seven years after he left office – has kept him relevant to young people at the party’s base.

Terrible in the relationship with Biden

Obama’s influence with Harris has grown at the same time that his relationship with Biden, his former vice president, has grown more complicated.

Obama, along with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, is seen by some as the driving force behind the party revolt that led to Biden’s exit over his disastrous showdown against Trump in late June.

Obama aides say only that he served as a sounding board for the president.

A White House official acknowledged that Biden had been upset with those who wanted him to drop out of the race, but said he is confident in his decision now and will work with Obama to ensure Trump is defeated in November.

Obama and Biden have had a lot of ups and downs.

Some in Biden’s orbit believe Obama put his thumb on the scales to make Hillary Clinton the 2016 presidential nominee, rather than Biden, who was considering a run even as he mourned the death of his son Beau. Obama gave a eulogy for Bo Biden.

“You can love and have affection for someone and it can still be complicated,” said one Democrat with ties to both men.

Biden will not be in attendance for Obama’s prime-time convention speech. After making his own remarks Monday night in Chicago, he’s spending the rest of the week vacationing in California.