This week a theme emerged at the second CNN Democratic Debate. A handful of Democrats suggested there was something wrong with Obama-era policies. The next day former Attorney General, Erc Holder, who served during the Obama administration commented, “there is little to be gained – for you or the party – by attacking a very successful and still popular Democratic President.”
And in the last 48 hours, we’ve heard more of that from dozens of political pundits and Democratic insiders.
MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough said, “attacking Obama’s policies more than Trump was CRAZY.”
Vox’s Matthew Yglesias sees things a little differently though saying, “This was not at all the debate I saw, but it is useful spin for several different groups. That includes Donald Trump.:”
What actually happened at the debate was some Democratic candidates issued not-particularly-original criticism of one specific element of Obama’s record — first-term immigration enforcement — that Obama himself sharply changed course on during his second term.
But while this discourse is not particularly accurate as a recounting of what happened Tuesday and Wednesday, it is a powerful window into both tactical maneuvering and real disagreements about ideas among Democrats.
Indeed, even Donald Trump and his son pounced on it.
And it looks like Biden won’t be shying away from invoking Obama’s names and policies.
And polls show building on Obama’s legacy will help Biden.
And today some of the other candidates are responding with accolades for Obama as well.
