It Was The Tin Man, Scarecrow, And The Guy Elected in 2008

This is precious. NJ.com reports

President Obama is not planning to campaign for Democrat Barbara Buono in her quest to rob Gov. Chris Christie of a second term, the Associated Press reported yesterday.

This year and next, Obama only plans to lend his political firepower to close races where he could help cinch a win for his party, a Democratic official involved with Obama’s political plans told AP. The official wasn’t authorized to discuss strategy and requested anonymity, the wire service said.

This comes on the heels of a recent poll showing State Senator Buono gaining on Christie, though she still trails quite a bit.  It comes from a President who is still popular in New Jersey, a state he carried in 2012 by 17.75 percentage points.    And it comes from a President who three days earlier had endorsed New Jersey's Democratic U.S. Senate candidate, Cory Booker, who at the time was found to be leading his GOP opponent by 16 points.

The improbability of a Booker defeat brings to mind the famous quote of Democrat Edwin Edwards when in 1983 he ran in the Louisiana gubernatorial election against incumbent David Treen, a race Edwards ultimately won by more than 26 points.  "The only way I can lose this election," Edwards stated, "is if I'm caught in bed with a dead girl or a live boy." (He was a crook, but quite a humorous one.)

When it comes time to make a difference, President Obama is nowhere to be found.  In 2007 Senator Obama vowed (video below) "And understand this: If American workers are being denied their right to organize and collectively bargain when I’m in the White House, I’ll put on a put on a comfortable pair of shoes myself. I’ll walk on that picket line with you as president of the United States.”  When public sector workers in Wisconsin needed his support against the effort by Republican governor Scott Walker to crush their unions, Obama stayed silent.When Scott Barrett ran against Walker in the subsequent recall election, the President endorsed the Democrat-  but tepidly, and at the last moment, when he knew his support would be relatively inconsequential.






President Obama apparently wants to make sure he backs only the winning horse, in elections as elsewhere. Best of luck to the people of Syria.



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