President Barack Obama’s trip to Las Vegas later this week to campaign for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid shows how congressional Democrats will live and die on the president’s popularity as the midterm elections approach.
The president is still a huge draw in Democratic campaign circles, and Reid wants him in Nevada on Thursday, but Obama’s approval rating keeps dropping, and no matter what Democratic lawmakers accomplish, history shows they can’t divorce themselves from the president’s polls.
That’s bad news for Reid, who already trails virtually every GOP candidate in Nevada, whether or not Obama stumps on his behalf.
“The fate of Congress’s Democratic members and Obama are inextricably tied; there’s no question about that,” said Neil Newhouse, a GOP strategist. “And for those Democratic members who want to put distance between themselves and President Obama in an effort to save their own hides, they just need to look back to how successful that was for Republicans in 2006 and 2008. Which is to say: Good luck with that.”
Reid insists Obama is still the biggest asset Democrats have — despite intraparty squabbling about health care and jobs legislation.
“No one can deliver the Democratic message better than he can,” said Reid spokesman Jim Manley. “Polls go up, and polls go down.” - Politico Story
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