Obama got the first transfer wrong. He hopes Harris can finish the job

Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi will likely be remembered for leading the push for President Joe Biden to retire. But Obama’s perceived dismissal of his friend and former vice president runs deeper.

On Tuesday night, Obama tried to mend what appears to be a lingering wound. He praised Biden, saying his decision to step aside was “selfless.” United Center delegates responded with a brief “Thanks, Joe” chant.

“History will remember Joe Biden as a president who defended democracy at a time of great peril,” Obama said. “I’m proud to call him my president, but even more proud to call him my friend.”

According to Politico, some of those closest to Biden remain frustrated that Obama did not do more to quell the outcry against Biden following the president’s disastrous debate performance.

Obama endorsed Clinton in 2016

This is not the first time Obama has overlooked Biden. Then-President Obama was instrumental in elevating former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as his successor. Instead of watching Clinton cement her legacy, Obama and his allies watched President Donald Trump try to tear it down. The nagging question was whether Biden would have been better off.

Biden knows his legacy is at stake this time. In his speech Monday night, the president framed his selection of Kamala Harris as his running mate as the “best decision” of his long political career. If Harris wins, Biden will be transformed as a modern-day Cincinnatus. If Trump returns to the White House, Biden will never be able to live down the way he defiantly relinquished his power only when it was too late for his party to move in another direction.

Despite the friendship bracelets and memes, Biden and Obama have a more complicated relationship than a simple bromance. Biden pointed this out when he pointed out to special counsel Robert Hur how Obama favored Clinton.

“He thought she had a better chance to win the presidency than I did,” Biden told Hur.

According to Axios, Biden has sometimes privately boasted of some of his accomplishments that “Obama would be jealous.”

Biden said he asked Obama not to endorse him early in his 2020 race. But the president likely wouldn’t have catapulted to the nomination as easily if it weren’t for Obama’s help pushing others presidential hopefuls to endorse Biden after his victory in the South Carolina primary.

A return to the campaign

In a foreshadowing of his return to the campaign trail, Obama spent most of his speech extolling Harris, a longtime political ally.

“Kamala Harris is ready for the job,” Obama said. “This is a person who has spent his life fighting on behalf of people who need a voice and a champion.”

There’s no guarantee the Democrats’ summer shakeup will pay off. As former first lady Michelle Obama pointed out, the party has renewed hope, but now faces an unprecedented time crunch.

Both Obamas have warned that the final months of the campaign will be tough.

“For all the incredible energy we’ve been able to generate in recent weeks, this will still be a close race in a deeply divided country — a country where too many Americans are still struggling and don’t believe the government can help. ,” said President Obama.

The only remaining question is whether it will be enough this time to elect Harris and erase the memory of the failed 2016 campaign.