TOUGH GIG

Barack Obama Faces Major Dilemma With DNC Speech

The former president has reportedly been tasked with showing that Harris is ready for the White House—while distancing her from links with Biden that may hurt her with voters.

Barack Obama has been given a tricky role by DNC organizers to distance Kamala Harris from Joe Biden’s presidency while still giving her credit for some of his achievements in office, according to a report.

Finding the right words to wade through the dilemma was “deliberately placed in the hands of the party’s greatest living orator,” insiders close to Obama told The New York Times.

The former president’s task is to “separate” Harris from Biden’s presidency while boosting her role during his term to bring confidence that she will be able to move ready-made into the White House.

GOING HIGH

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Corbin Bolies

The former president spoke at the 2016 convention in support of Hillary Clinton’s ultimately doomed campaign and, once again, Donald Trump will be the bogeyman, only this time his potency as a candidate will not be taken so lightly.

“President Obama spoke as an incumbent in 2016 in favor of one of the most familiar brands in American politics,” David Axelrod, a senior Obama adviser, told the Times. “He will speak Tuesday as someone who also once was a turn-the-page candidate, just as the party is showing signs of renewed energy behind Kamala Harris. It’s a very different scenario.”

Obama is expected to draw on the same message of hope in his speech that helped propel him to the presidency in 2008.

Biden said in his speech on Monday that he was not angry at the way his exit from the race was handled, but some reports have suggested he was unhappy that senior party leaders, including Obama, did not offer him more support.

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David GardnerChief National Correspondent

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