Hill on Obama’s Rising Poll Numbers: ‘He Won’t Be Anathema on the Campaign Trail’

‘Obama will be very important on the campaign trail to keep the energy up and defend his own legacy’

UNKNOWN MALE: “...elected in those states in 2008 come out to vote, as Mark said, in 2016.”
COSTELLO: “So with that in mind, Mark, is it, you know, will the candidates welcome Obama’s support? Wholeheartedly?
LAMONT HILL: “Well, it will be a sharp contrast from 2008 when Republicans were running from George W. Bush at the very same time Democrats were beating up on him. It’ll be much different here. Obama, even people that disagree with policy tend to like him. He’s not going to be be anathema on the — on the campaign trail. So, I think you’ll see him galvanizing southern voters, galvanizing black voters, to come out and vote and say ‘Hey, it’s a high-stakes election, even when I’m not on the ballot.’ Obviously, there going to be some concerns with white working class male voters who have not felt benefited from the Obama administration in the same way and aren’t necessarily going to vote inclined to follow Obama the lead on this. That’s why Bernie Sanders is actually more important. So I think Obama will be very important on the campaign trail to keep the energy up and to defend his own legacy. But you going to need at some point Bernie Sanders on the campaign trail in places like Michigan, in places like Illinois, in places like Ohio, where workers are going to say, ‘Hey, we want a fair shake here and Trump is going to have have a populist economic message that’s compelling and persuasive. Unless you have Bernie Sanders on the other side screaming into the microphone, vote Hillary, then Hillary is going to have a tough time. I’m not saying Bernie is going to do it do it, but that is absolutely an issue here and it won’t happen if he feels disrespected.”

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