Obama Privately Tells Donors That Time Is Coming to Unite Behind Hillary Clinton

[ProudToBeLiberal]

In unusually candid remarks, President Obama privately told a group of Democratic donors last Friday that Senator Bernie Sanders is nearing the point where his campaign against Hillary Clinton will come to an end, and that the party must soon come together to back her.

Obama acknowledged that Mrs. Clinton is perceived to have weaknesses as a candidate, and that some Democrats did not view her as authentic.

But he played down the importance of authenticity, noting that President George W. Bush — whose record he ran aggressively against in 2008 — was once praised for his authenticity.

Mr. Obama made the remarks after reporters had left a fund-raising event in Austin, Tex., for the Democratic National Committee. The comments were described by three people in the room for the event, all of whom were granted anonymity to describe a candid moment with the president. The comments were later confirmed by a White House official.

More at http://nytimes.com/2016/03/18/us/politics/obama-hillary-clinton-bernie-sanders.html?_r=0&referer=https://www.reddit.com/r/hillaryclinton/new/

[sufrommich]

1. Was just reading this. Interesting. nt

[Vincardog]

2. Unrec

[Hiraeth]

21. trash thread, too

[djean111]

3. Oh, my -

But he played down the importance of authenticity

Too fucking late by half for that, methinks.
The donors may do as they are told. I am not biddable.

[vintx]

4. I've experienced this same kind of arm twisting.

I hope the people he was lecturing in Austin received it just as well as I did.

[peacebird]

5. Me too.

[Impedimentus]

6. Who were some of the donors? Lloyd Blankfein, Jamie Dimon, Timmy Geithner ?

Probably a rogues gallery of banisters and corporatists thugs. All doing "God's work" I suppose.

FEEL THE BERN - 2016

[vintx]

12. You never know. Austin is a lefty town.

The impression I get is he was trying to convince them to give up on Bernie.

Her supporters have had that mindset for months now, so there'd be no other reason for him to try to sell that bullshit to those already in her corner.

[magical thyme]

7. Sanders is nearing the point where his campaign against Hillary Clinton will come to an end?

Oh really? Last I heard, Bernie's in it to the convention. And unlike most politicians, Bernie is known to be tenacious, dogged, and as good as his word.


Senator Roger Wicker — Republican, Mississippi
“I learned early on not to be automatically dismissive of a Bernie Sanders initiative or amendment… He’s tenacious and dogged and he has determination, and he’s not to be underestimated.”


Senator John Mccain — Republican, Arizona
“[While working on the Veterans Affairs legislation], I found him to be honorable and good as his word.”

http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/2/10/1482833/-8-Quotes-From-Congress-About-Bernie-Sanders

[hack89]

16. Donors don't want to waste their money

Bernie can campaign up to the convention but once it is clear he has no clear path to the nomination, big donors are not going to give him money. I suspect many have already made that decision.

[TM99]

33. Yeah, we are cool with that

because the bulk of Sanders donors are not big money people. The average donation is $27.00. Fuck them, we don't need them to keep moving forward.

[hack89]

46. Average people can still waste their money. It is their money after all. nt

[Waiting For Everyman]

36. "big donors are not going to give him money"

He doesn't HAVE ANY big donors

We, supporters have been funding him. How do you not know that?

He can, and will, go until the convention because we small donors are backing him. And guess what? His movement won't go away because he now has a better donor list and voter database than Obama had. And Sanders isn't going to tell us to go home, we aren't needed, as Obama did.

HILLARY is the one who is dependent on keeping big donors happy!!!

[hack89]

47. I don't care if you want to waste your money. It is your money, after all.

I can understand your reluctance to call it quits. It is not like I don't waste money on frivolous things myself.

[PADemD]

53. Bernie is not frivolous!

[hack89]

56. What value will you get from your donation?

just wondering.

[PADemD]

57. A President who shares my values.

[arcane1]

39. "Big donors" are the problem, not the solution n/t

[BernieforPres2016]

8. Not surprising that Obama would downplay the importance of authenticity

He masqueraded as a liberal and turned out to be a corporatist.

Bernie's campaign will be over when he says it's over Barack. Go play some more golf.

[Lizzie Poppet]

11. I've been largely happy with his presidency, but yeah...

...it's not like he's not part of the machine, too. When push comes to shove on matters that Big Money really cares about, he's dropped the ball.

[BernieforPres2016]

19. One of the most revealing Obama moments to me

Was when somebody in the press tried to push him on something he said during his campaign and Obama said, "I get it, you're trying to play gotcha'", as if nothing said during a campaign should be treated as something the candidate should be held accountable for after the campaign was over, that everybody knows a politician will say anything to get elected.

[vi5]

18. That's what scares me...

If he's what he got when we elected someone who is a liberal telling us we can hope and dream, what's going to happen if we elect someone more openly conservative who is telling us our hopes and dreams are silly and unattainable.

[SamKnause]

40. ...

[JaneyVee]

9. You dont need to be a rocket scientist to figure that out.

[Impedimentus]

10. Did they discuss speaking fees?

February is not that far away.

[hrmjustin]

13. Yes!

[Viva_La_Revolution]

14. yep im done with this party. nt

[MohRokTah]

15. The president is intimately familiar with the nuances of delegate math.

He obviously knows that mathematically, the race is over.

[appal_jack]

31. Since he was even further behind in 2008 & all.

Yes, what insight! Authenticity is over-rated!

Obama was even further behind in 2008, and this even despite Derpy Watered-down Shartz's rejiggering of the Primary schedule to further favor her Hill-ness.

Your math is wrong. Your politics more so.

-app

[MohRokTah]

34. Obma took the delegate leaad in South Carolina.

He never lost it.

At this point in 2008, he had a 90 delegate lead. At no time in 2008 did his pledged delegate lead rise to the level Hillary has against Sanders now.

[Godhumor]

44. Not even remotely correct n/t

[NuclearDem]

45. Clinton's delegate lead right now is nearly three times Obama's lead this time in 2008.

The math doesn't favor Sanders one bit. Since three of the five remaining contests with over a hundred delegates are closed primaries, it's nearly insurmountable.

[scheming daemons]

17. Obama is correct. And Bernie, deep down, knows it too.

[Hiraeth]

20. with all due respect Mr. President,

It ain't over til Bernie says its over.

Signed,
Waiting for the Fat Lady to sing.

PS. Bernie is in the same place you were in '08.

[Autumn]

22. So he is using Bush as an example to unite the party behind her??

[whatchamacallit]

23. I know

[Autumn]

38. You know we are fucked when a democratic president has to use Bush's "authenticity"

that the republicans swallowed hook line and sinker to excuse Hillary's authenticity problem.

[Waiting For Everyman]

24. Yeah, it's called "June" Obama.

And if he thinks the Dem party is going to unite for Hillary, he is delusional.

He probably figures the Sanders faction doesn't matter and therefore doesn't count. Well we'll see about that.

We grass rootsers have to put up with a lot that we can't control. But what we do control is who we accept and who we will vote for. That, the establishment has no say over.

I expected a lot better from this guy, and he's pissing me off right to the end.

[Impedimentus]

26. He's following the money

He always has. I voted for him twice and he disappointed me twice.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

28. I proudly stand with President Obama...

I proudly stand with President Obama and look forward to watching him vigorously campaign for Secretary Clinton as they re-create the Coalition of The Ascendant that swept him to victory in 2008 and 2012.

[workinclasszero]

25. The President is right of course.

The math is on Hillary's side.

It ain't rocket science...unless your a Bernie fan anyway.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

35. "60 years after the war ends, two soldiers emerge from the jungle."

Mystery surrounds Japanese men, both in their 80s, who say they have been in hiding since second world war

The two old men apparently declared they were soldiers, and the story they told when they emerged from the dense jungle of a Philippine island was yesterday the talk of the nation they claimed to have fought for.
According to reports, the Japanese men, who are both in their 80s, said they had been hiding on the island of Mindanao, which is 600 miles from Manila, since before the end of the second world war.


http://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/may/28/secondworldwar.japan

[whatchamacallit]

27. That unfortunate wrinkle in the neoliberal continuum, Bernie Sanders, is almost ironed out

[PoliticAverse]

29. "But he played down the importance of authenticity" - authenticity is the most important thing...

if you can fake that you've got it made.

[Gothmog]

30. Thanks for posting this

The Obama fundraising machine will soon be working for Hillary

[Politicalboi]

32. Even after she went behind his back with Blumenthal

More self loathing I guess.

[arcane1]

37. Did Hillary "evolve" on waiting until June?

[hrmjustin]

42. Hillary has not called fof him to drop out.

[TCJ70]

41. Well, June is approaching. In fact, it always is...

...except for 30 days out of the year!

[WillyT]

43. Scale... Meet Thumb...

[taught_me_patience]

48. And here come the Bernie supporters to trash Obama again...n/t

[Hell Hath No Fury]

49. Then his supporters will have to step up --

and make up the balance with their donations.

And to imply that 1) Bush had genuine authenticity in the first place and to 2) link it to Sander's makes me gag and shows, once again, how deeply out of touch those who succumb to the Washington Bubble are. But, this should not surprise anyone coming from a man who dismissed the late, great Sen. Paul Wellstone as a "gadfly".

[Dems to Win]

50. I wasn't invited to the private meeting with Obama?

Bernie has over a million donors -- there was meeting for them with Obama, and I didn't hear about it?

I'm certain the big donors Obama was talking to have long been united behind Hillary.

Bernie's small donors, like me, have other priorities and will continue donating to Bernie through June, at least.

[ebayfool]

58. "Attendees paid as much as $33,400 a ticket."

I couldn't afford the invite.

[livetohike]

51. K&R

[tularetom]

52. I hope that kool aid tasted good to him

She trashed him on a personal and racial basis during the 2008 campaign.

For four years she ran a shadow State Department and undercut his foreign policy constantly.

When she started to make noise about a presidential run, she belittled him as naive.

She hinted that if elected she would attempt to reverse the Iran deal that Obama and John Kerry negotiated.

In a nutshell, she was a disloyal cabinet member and a mendacious and vicious political opponent.

So, what the fuck does he owe her?

Or is he just aiming for a cushy gig with the Clinton Foundation after he leaves the WH?

[ljm2002]

54. Well he didn't meet with this donor...

...and there are millions of us who don't agree with that position.

And this just sticks out like a sore thumb:

But he played down the importance of authenticity, noting that President George W. Bush — whose record he ran aggressively against in 2008 — was once praised for his authenticity.

Et tu, Barack? You really went there, crediting "authenticity" to GWB and therefore slyly tying GWB to Sanders, since we all know that "authenticity" is the single word people think of first when they think of Sanders? IMO that is shameful. But maybe that's just me.

[Skwmom]

55. President Obama - he never fails to disappoint.