Obama Not Going To Georgia To Campaign In Senate Runoff?
The Obama transition team isn't disputing a new report claiming that Obama won't be visiting Georgia to campaign on behalf of Dem challenger Jim Martin in the high-stakes Georgia Senate runoff.
The assertion that Obama won't be hitting the state, which will disappoint the Martin campaign and other Dems, was buried in this piece in The New York Times about the "bipartisan" tone of Obama's emerging administration:
Mr. Obama has shied away from inserting himself in the still-to-be resolved Senate contests in Georgia and Minnesota. While he recorded a radio advertisement for the Democratic candidate in Georgia, advisers said he would not visit there, to avoid appearing to be too political as he works to deliver on his campaign pledge to bridge the partisan divide in Washington.
We asked an Obama transition spokesperson this morning to confirm or deny the report, and thus far have gotten no comment. In other words, for now the transition team is not knocking it down.
There are a couple ways of reading this. If it's true, it suggests that the Obama team doesn't think Martin can win the race. If they thought he could win, it's hard to imagine that they would forgo a chance to help move the Dem Senate majority that much closer to 60 in exchange for the passing appearance of being apolitical.
It's also possible that anonymous Obama advisers are leaking word of his intention not to go merely to get the stories they want right now -- i.e., apolitical Obama putting the need for bipartisan unity before politics, just as during the Lieberman saga -- in the full knowledge that he may change his mind should the race tighten. We'll let you know if we nail this down further.
Late Update: A Martin adviser tells me that the Obama team has assured the Martin campaign that no final decisions have yet been made on whether he'll campaign in the state. So we'll see.
test. anyone having tech difficulties?
November 24, 2008 4:18 PM | Reply | Permalink
Not sure. My last comment I posted said I needed approval first. Was it a technical difficulty or legit? Can't tell.
November 24, 2008 4:20 PM | Reply | Permalink
don't know. let me find out.
November 24, 2008 4:25 PM | Reply | Permalink
Maybe it was all the links to midget porn I had in there.
November 24, 2008 4:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
what's a little midget porn between friends?
November 24, 2008 4:30 PM | Reply | Permalink
little midget porn?
Is that a redundancy or am I not up on the latest in midget porn? It's been a while...
November 24, 2008 7:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
"Midget porn"?
Anyway, that piece in the Times was interesting. I particularly like the quote from Lamar Alexander about how the "bipartisan" part was entirely up to Obama. As I commented earlier today, it's fascinating. The Republicans get their lunch handed to them, but it's up to Obama to be "bipartisan".
November 24, 2008 4:40 PM | Reply | Permalink
"Bipartisan" in Springfield means Republicans and Democrats working together and finding some common ground.
"Bipartisan" in Washington means implementing the Republican agenda.
Of course, Senator Obama might have noticed this is he had spent more time in Washington . . . but, fortunately for all of us, he was out campaigning early and headed for the White House. I think he's smart enough to size things up and re-define DC "bipartisanship"---but even so, it may take a while for him to catch on.
November 24, 2008 5:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
It's not worth it. I just don't think Georgia is a safe place for President-Elect Obama.
Also, he would be raising stakes for an otherwise safe republican seat.
Any one remember RaeK, one racist scumbag from GA?
November 24, 2008 4:45 PM | Reply | Permalink
I think it's best that Obama doesn't go. If Martin loses after Obama goes and campaigns for him in Georgia, he will lose some of this political capital.
It isn't worth it.
November 24, 2008 4:50 PM | Reply | Permalink
I agree. It could hurt Martin more than help him, and no gain for Obama. Wise move to stay away. GA has come a long way, but still has a ways to go.
November 24, 2008 7:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
Is I mentioned in the other thread about this issue, Bill Clinton and Al Gore have stumped for Martin, which has more stature and political star power than all of the folks Chambliss is pulling in to campaign for him.
I think Martin should focus on local issues to Ga, and let Chambliss fight the GE battle all over again. Make this a referendum on Chambliss and his gutter campaign tactics.
Obama, save one or two instances, didn't support down ticket Democrats during the GE, so it's not really anything different.
If anything I think Martin should show certain independence from Obama, that he won't be a lap dog automatic vote for Obama but will instead represent Ga. and his constituents.
November 24, 2008 5:01 PM | Reply | Permalink
Keep in mind the Onion's characterization:
"International con man Barack Obama"
But really folks, the way politics works these days, it would be unrealistic to expect Obama to put his "prestige" on the line in Georgia. It makes more sense, by the in-crowd calculus, not to risk doing something that could be seen as backfiring and leading to "voters reject Obama" stories. And as we know, Obama's instincts are to move very cautiously and deliberately.
Besides, the whole "60 votes" thing is a bogus issue, a smokescreen to hide the fact that Democratic congressional leadership is gutless, spineless, feckless, clueless and pretty much brain-dead anyway. So Martin's winning or losing won't alter that.
November 24, 2008 5:07 PM | Reply | Permalink
I am sure Obama is looking very carefully at the Georgia Senate race in terms of political pragmatism - in short, does he do more harm than good with a visit.
It might energize his base voters to increase turnout, but it might also energize the reps, especially those who resent outsiders, northerners, and (other descriptives).
I agree that Martin is an unusually fine candidate to support for Senator, but remember - on his own he was 110,000 votes behind Chambliss, while Obama was 205,000 votes behind McCain in Georgia.
November 24, 2008 5:33 PM | Reply | Permalink
I think Martin is a fine guy and I have no problem voting for him -- twice.
That said, he is a very weak candidate. He certainly was never considered to be a top-tier opponent for Chambliss and I'm sure the Repubs were quite happy, initially, with the hand they were dealt.
In my opinion, Martin's success has everything to do with the Obama wave, the great year Dems are having, the incredibly awful year the Repubs are having and almost nothing to do with Martin the candidate.
I don't mean this as a slap against Martin. I support him and hope he wins. On the other hand, I intensely dislike Saxby.
November 24, 2008 6:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
If the '60 votes in the Senate Democratic caucus' was ever anything but vaporware you can bet your ass Obama would be in Georgia. Because Obama lives in the real world he knows that 60 votes is an arbitrary number that is in flux on every vote (how does Landrieu vote on oil? how does Specter vote on labor issues?) and is almost meaningless.
Martin could spend a lifetime in the Senate and not have the impact of Obama's first month in office. Obama has his eye on the ball.
November 24, 2008 6:32 PM | Reply | Permalink
Am I the only one who thinks he should go?
November 24, 2008 7:46 PM | Reply | Permalink
I could see sending Biden. Probably wouldn't give as big a boost as a visit by Obama but it least it would signal that Martin's effort has his support.
November 24, 2008 7:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
Martin may not be an exciting candidate, but he's a solid one. He's definitely a liberal which would make a Martin win all the more fabulous for Georgia. Getting rid of Shameless would be just too wonderful.
Obama should come to Georgia. He has more support here than he thinks. Although he did lose Georgia, the 52% v. 47% wasn't the absolute blowout one would have expected from a deep southern state. I think it was because of a "reverse" Bradley effect. Republican were deserting their party left and right. More than a few of my white friends told me Republicans they knew "confessed" to voting for Obama, but could tell their family or certain friends that they had.
The Dems here are energiaed and just need that extra boost. A visit would us know we and our outsized effort mattered. The energy here during the election was incredible. Attention from Obama could give the Democratic party here a serious enough jolt that he just might even carry the state in 2012.
November 24, 2008 11:46 PM | Reply | Permalink
The media would love for Obama to go to Georgia so they can criticize him for partisan politics while the country is in a crisis. It's a catch 22 for him and not worth it, especially since there is not much chance that Martin will win in this redneck haven of hatred and ignorance.
November 25, 2008 8:29 AM | Reply | Permalink