Obama Gears Up for Midterms

Midterms are right around the corner, and Democrats are busy planning how to deploy their biggest weapon: President Obama. While Obama is far more popular than Congress in the polls (who isn't?), his services might be less than helpful in some states. For example, Arkansas, where there's a Democratic primary challenge to Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) and a tough race in the general election ahead, is considered off limits given Obama's unpopularity there, The Washington Post reports. "There are some cases, like Blanche Lincoln, where it's not helpful," a White House official told the Post. Obama has also avoided his home state of Illinois recently, site of a battleground Senate race, even though his help would likely be a boon to Democratic nominee Alexi Giannoulias. While he has yet to hit the campaign trail for the November races, Obama's held a total of 8 fundraisers this year for Democratic candidates.