In battle, you can often get a good gauge on the opposition simply by observing how desperate they’ve become.
Given that reality, it appears the Democratic Party is in rough shape — not that this should surprise anyone who’s paid a lick of attention to the rudderless, leaderless bunch.
Things are so bad for the flailing party in its efforts against President Donald Trump and his administration that instead of figuring out how to fix its future, it’s desperately searching for an answer from its past.
And, frankly, it’s kind of pathetic.
“Where is Barack Obama?” asks the headline of a whiny piece from The Atlantic. And no, it’s not satire.
“No matter how brazen Trump becomes, the most effective communicator in the Democratic Party continues to opt for minimal communication,” the piece lamented about the seeming nonchalance from former President Obama.
The piece further critiqued Obama: “His ‘audacity of hope’ presidency has given way to the fierce lethargy of semi-retirement.”
Ouch. But true.
But also, if that is true, why is the party pining for him?
Do you think Barack Obama still carries significant political weight?
“Obama occasionally dips into politics with brief and unmemorable statements, or sporadic fundraising emails,” the piece continued, clearing implying that it’s not enough.
“But the inevitable Trump-era counterpoint is that these are not normal times,” the piece added. “And Obama’s detachment feels jarringly incongruous with the desperation of his longtime admirers — even more so given Trump’s assaults on what Obama achieved in office.
“It would be one thing if Obama had disappeared after leaving the White House, maybe taking up painting like George W. Bush.
“The problem is that Obama still very much has a public profile — one that screams comfort and nonchalance at a time when so many other Americans are terrified.”
(Spoiler alert for The Atlantic: Barry exudes that “comfort and nonchalance” because he’s the walking, breathing definition of “insulated elitist.”)
Therein lies the fallacy of the left’s desperation, however. Does Obama, in fact, “still very much” have a public profile?
To be fair, in a certain way, pop culture has uniformly embraced the man, so yes, he will always have something akin to a public profile.
But mainstream pop culture also embraces most establishment Democrats. When it comes to the political world where Democrats actually need help, there’s mounting evidence that the Obama brand may not carry the same cultural heft it once did in the late 2000s and early 2010s.
First, and perhaps least importantly, Obama lost some serious street cred with his fellow leftists — and perhaps even his own wife — after he appeared a little too chummy with Trump, an unpardonable sin in certain Democratic circles.
Second, and more importantly, the 2024 general election had Barack Obama’s fingerprints all over it, and it didn’t seem to matter one iota. Trump still won in dominant fashion, and Obama apparently didn’t even have enough political sway to get a different nominee than failed presidential candidate Kamala Harris.
Perhaps that “fierce lethargy of semi-retirement” is, in fact, just his political heft leaving him.
As more and more people got to know the Obamas (former first lady Michelle has her own woes these days), it turned out that they were a little more vindictive and a little less polished than everyone was led to initially believe. And with those revelations came a sharp decline in giving a rip what the former first couple thinks.
So… why are the Democrats so desperately crying out to him?
Oh, right, because without him, they’d probably have to rely on someone like Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett — in all of her paraplegic-insulting glory — to shape the future of the party and …
… Actually, you know what? A Crockett-led Democratic party sounds horrific.
Where is Barack Obama?
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