Obama: Sanders has 'luxury' of being long shot in Democratic race

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

Homepage | Mon Jan 25, 2016 8:32am EST

Obama: Sanders has 'luxury' of being long shot in Democratic race

WASHINGTON

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has had the "luxury of being a complete long shot" so far in the race to be the U.S. Democratic presidential candidate, President Barack Obama said in an interview published by Politico on Monday.

Obama said both Sanders and Clinton, his former Secretary of State, share similar views on core issues like income inequality, but said Clinton faces the disadvantage of being a well-known commodity "in a culture in which new is always better."

"I think Bernie came in with the luxury of being a complete long shot and just letting loose," Obama said in the interview with the political news website. "I think Hillary came in with the both privilege and burden of being perceived as the front-runner," he said.

Obama lauded Clinton's experience, saying it will help her govern if she wins, but he described her campaign as "cautious."

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-obama-idUSKCN0V31J1

Source: Politico

Exclusive: Obama on Iowa, Clinton, Sanders and 2016

In an Oval Office interview for POLITICO's Off Message podcast, the president offers his
most expansive comments yet on the race to succeed him in the White House.

By Glenn Thrush
01/25/16 06:00 AM EST

Barack Obama, that prematurely gray elder statesman, is laboring mightily to remain neutral during Hillary Clinton’s battle with Bernie Sanders in Iowa, the state that cemented his political legend and secured his path to the presidency.

But in a candid 40-minute interview for POLITICO’s Off Message podcast as the first flakes of the blizzard fell outside the Oval Office, he couldn’t hide his obvious affection for Clinton or his implicit feeling that she, not Sanders, best understands the unpalatably pragmatic demands of a presidency he likens to the world’s most challenging walk-and-chew-gum exercise.

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Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2016/01/obama-iowa-2016-sanders-off-message-218166

[pengu]

1. Sanders has been at this longer than Clinton

He's been working for the people as an elected official since 1981.

He isn't the "new thing". He's rock solid in his principles and has been consistent about it for DECADES.

I reject framing Bernie as a "new thing". Just because you haven't been paying attention doesn't make him new.

[restorefreedom]

2. thread over.

and on the first post, too.

dayum!

[daleanime]

5. Yeahup.....

[quickesst]

8. I didn't know...

... who Bernie Sanders was until his name came up as a possible candidate in the presidential election, and only after the reality that Elizabeth Warren was not going to run had finally set in. I'm 64 years old, and not a big political animal, but I do try to keep up with what is pertinent in American politics. Bernie Sanders may have been around for a long time, but he hasn't made a big impact on the national political scene until now. So yeah, in that sense, he is new to me, as well as, I suspect, he is to most Americans.

[pengu]

11. He founded the congressional progressive caucus in 1991

He's had a distinguished and very progressive career for two and a half decades in national politics. I know a lot of people hadn't heard of him, but it's still hard for me to wrap my head around. He's been a strong progressive voice in federal politics (not even counting his time as mayor) since before Bill Clinton became president.

[quickesst]

15. I was not disputing his accomplishments...

... I was just pointing out that to the average voter out there, he is not well known, although that has been, and is , rapidly changing. All of this will be over shortly, and perhaps the majority of us can concentrate on keeping trump or cruz as far away from the White House as possible, or any republican for that matter.

[demwing]

12. Who says noobs can't hit the ball?

Homerun post! Proves that being new to DU doesn't make you new to the game.

Welcome to DU!

[pengu]

14. I was on dailykos since 2006

The DK5 redesign ruined that site for me. I'm a noob here but not to the netroots/progressive politics.

[Tom Rinaldo]

3. I really do respect our President

Especially during this his second term in office. It's not the greatest of his talents, there are more meaningful ones, but no one is better with words than he.

Having said that this has to be the penultimate "making lemonade out of lemons" metaphor:

"Clinton faces the disadvantage of being a well-known commodity"

[TwilightGardener]

4. Stupid. There's no "luxury" to being a long shot for President unless

it's a vanity run, not intended to win. Sanders is dead serious, and in a hard slog to the finish line. I'm sure Obama wouldn't have liked his own "long shot" run being dissed that way.

[Arkana]

10. It was dissed that way.

By like every party insider affiliated with the Clintons.

[morningfog]

6. He's right about HIllary and her "privilege," at least.

[JI7]

7. i agree with him. he is pretty good and objective

In his analysis.

[ljm2002]

9. "in a culture in which new is always better"...

...that seems a little disingenuous, since Sen. Sanders has been around politically for a very long time. Longer, in fact, than Sec. Clinton.

And in all that time, Sanders has a very consistent record. Not 100% consistent, but damn close.

Whereas, in Clinton's case... she has been far, far from 100% consistent in her positions over the years.

No, I'd not call Sanders "new". And I don't think the American public is warming to him because he's "new".

Even Pres. Obama is falling into the trap of believing in the old politics. Which is weird, since he won by promoting a new vision. Although with hindsight, we can see that his "new vision" was not as ambitious as many of had thought, and hoped. He also had to deal with the Republican obstructionists of course -- they were far worse than many of us expected, almost certainly due to racial animus IMO.

Anyway, I am not surprised he is supporting Sec. Clinton. I do think his analysis is a bit off. Again he, like many of his establishment Democratic peers, seems to be misreading the mood of the electorate this cycle.

Well in a few days we will see if that mood translates into votes, and if so, how many.

Go Bernie!

[mmonk]

13. There are all sorts of ways of trying to belittle

his campaign. I don't think too many buy it.

[Orsino]

16. There's a grain of truth there.

The Right has spent two decades training dumbasses to reflexively hate anyone whose name rhymes with Clinton. They don't have time to give Sanders anything like the same treatment before the convention.

He only has to face the more nebulous charges of "progressive" and "socialist."

[EndElectoral]

17. How is not having a financial war chest, and lack of name recognition a luxury? C'mon Barrack.

I don't think you considered that a luxury when you ran in 2008...

[MisterP]

18. what, this is some sort of NOVELTY? some wilful gratuitous PERQUISITE?

something we're just AMUSING ourselves with?

he really does think anything but smarmy Blairism is a knowing waste of time: he really doesn't understand that there's things that everybody needs, that we can't tighten our belts any further, and that we WON'T do so to further powder the asses of the super-rich