Rumors have run rampant in Washington for the last few months that the DNC is already prepping candidates for the 2020 presidential campaign and former president Barack Obama is leading the committee by holding secret meetings with potential candidates.
At least nine potential candidates for the Democratic nomination have met in one-on-one sessions with Obama undoubtedly hoping for his blessing.
One of the nine candidates is former VP Joe Biden, who has been feeling the waters out for a potential run in 2020. Though he is waiting for the midterms to formally decide if he will run or not, Biden had met with Obama numerous times.
Several Politico sources familiar with the meetings say that Obama never really left the scene but has fully re-entered the picture.
Over the past few weeks, a steady stream of eager politicians have flowed through the World Wildlife Fund building where Obama maintains his personal office. Each is seeking guidance on how best to reimagine their image since Hillary Clinton lost. For Barack Obama, it is also an attempt to preserve his legacy before President Trump can finish dismantling it.
There is no doubt that Obama is not satisfied with leading the party from the shadows any longer and he plans on playing a key role in the Democratic Party. Knowledgeable sources say, though he is involved in the 2018 midterms, his focus is on the 2020 presidential election.
Two such meetings have been with Elizabeth Warren (D- Mass). The first time was an unpleasant confrontation in which she had to explain why she criticized Obama for taking $400,000 for giving a single speech at a Wall Street investment firm. She called that a perfect example of how money can act like “a snake that slithers through Washington” influencing political decisions in its wake. Though Warren refused to back down on her statement, insiders say she left that meeting humbled and ready to follow Obama’s lead.
Along with Biden and Warren, Obama has been meeting under the radar, often without close advisers to the people involved present. All the meetings have been a quiet affair, in part due to the fact Obama is wary of his meetings becoming public knowledge.
Observers say that Obama is not really calling the shots as he is looking to others for inspiration as to how to stop the progress of President Donald Trump.
The general topic of each meeting was “what the party should be focused on, and what would be distractions.” Another point of focus was “the differences between idealism and practicality.”
The general consensus is that neither Obama nor the candidates he met with had much more than a pipe dream as to what the strategy of the party as a whole should be. The one thing Obama remains adamant about is that everyone involved should keep the focus on “investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 election.”
Sources tell us the meetings are all the same: Obama is obsessed with Democrats beating Donald Trump and they are too scattered in their approach to manage that.
It appears that, though he campaigned heavily for Hillary Clinton in 2016, Obama is intent on being a backroom power broker and quiet counselor.
Obama is also meeting with what looks to be the B team of lesser contenders, such as Jason Kander, failed Missouri Senate candidate in 2016; Mitch Landrieu, former New Orleans mayor; Pete Buttigieg, mayor of South Bend, Indiana; and Eric Garcetti, mayor of Los Angeles. Garcetti hasn’t been to the Washington office but did have a private meeting when Obama was in Los Angeles this past May.
It appears Obama would have finished his sit-downs sooner but he has fallen behind schedule in completing his memoir and it has no release date as of yet. He and Michelle Obama have a $65 million deal for their retrospectives.
Over the past months, the former president has also met with liberal elites such as Senate leaders Harry Reid and Chuck Schumer and House leader Nancy Pelosi.
Panicked Democrats are pushing Obama to take on a larger public role in the fight against Trump. For now, he has refrained from that, instead waiting until the fall to make endorsements.
Until now Obama has mostly avoided publicly getting into conflict with President Trump. With Trump’s dismantling of the Iran nuclear deal, Obamacare, and the Dreamer program it can only be a matter of time until Obama uses his choice of candidates for 2020 as a mouthpiece for his frustration and to push his liberal agenda.
~ American Liberty Report
