Michelle Obama out in full force for ‘Barack’s last campaign’
|
Version 0 of 1. NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Plain-spoken and casual, Michelle Obama took the stage of a high school gymnasium here to rally Democratic voters. “I’m thrilled to be here,” she said, throwing up her hands and looking like she meant it. There were few glimpses of Obama as the “reluctant” political spouse, who acknowledged in 2007 that she had doubts about the career path her husband had chosen. In his first national campaign, she was frustrated by the way her missteps on the campaign trail were magnified and how forthright comments from a political spouse could quickly turn into a liability. On Thursday, she seemed lighthearted at moments and appeared to be enjoying what she has called “Barack’s last campaign.” She calmly dealt with hecklers in the audience and hugged supporters who lined up to meet her. At a previous stop this fall, she laughed at herself when she mispronounced the name of a candidate on whose behalf she was campaigning. She speaks personally, sharing stories about what motivates her politically and touching on policy lightly. The thousands who have come to campaign rallies that she keynotes greet her with cheers, sometimes standing on chairs to get a closer look. In the run-up to Election Day, the first lady has been forced to bow again to the grind of campaigning. And she seems better at it, notes Katherine Jellison, a history professor at Ohio University who has studied first ladies. “She’s just more experienced and seems more comfortable in this role with each passing year,” Jellison said. Obama has jetted across the country almost nonstop for the past six weeks to speak at events for candidates in tight Senate and gubernatorial contests. Monday, she was in Baltimore with Anthony Brown, whose race for Maryland governor is closer than expected. It’s a shift from the last midterm campaign, when it was clear to Democratic Party operatives that the first lady was reserving her popularity for her husband’s reelection bid. “We had a hard time getting the administration to do anything in 2010, and their focus at the time was 2012 and the president’s reelection and she made that clear,” said a Democratic consultant, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal party politics. “You have a certain level of political capital that you don’t want to exhaust, and she probably understood that.” This go-round, Obama is exhausting it. She knows this is the last time she’ll be called on to campaign at this pace. “Make no mistake about it — Barack’s last campaign was not in 2012. Barack’s last campaign is this year, 2014,” she said in September as she began her run of political events. “That election in 2012 wasn’t the change we sought. It was only the chance to make that change.” Anita Dunn, a former White House communications director, said Michelle Obama’s role in the midterm campaign is proof of the mood emanating from the Obama team. “The feeling that the midterms really do count can’t be exaggerated,” said Dunn, the managing director of SKDKnickerbocker. “There’s a strong sense of urgency looking at the final years of this presidency, and the stakes are so high for the Senate, Congress and state houses in terms of his policy agenda. She’s giving it her all.” Michelle Obama has appeared at more than 40 events on behalf of Democrats this year. Last month, she made 15 campaign stops and traveled to places as far-flung as Miami, Iowa City and Bangor, Maine. She has been welcome in states where her husband has not. Like most presidents in their sixth year, President Obama has been considered a drag on his party’s electoral chances. The first lady’s popularity has remained relatively steady since 2009. According to a summer poll by the Pew Research Center, 62 percent of Americans view her favorably, down a mere six points since her husband took office. “There is no backlash at all when she campaigns for you,” said Celinda Lake, a longtime Democratic party pollster. “The president is very popular with turnout audiences but often less popular with independent voters, and with her, there is no downside to having her and lots and lots of upside.” For example, the first lady is popular among women, African Americans and young voters, who are less likely to participate in midterm elections but are key for Democratic candidates. On the campaign trail, Michelle Obama’s message is similar at each stop. She makes the case for her husband’s agenda and record, telling crowds that “things are starting to get better because of your president.” And she often offers insight into her personal motivations by giving a nod to the obstructionism in Washington that she finds frustrating. “It has gotten so bad they’ve even tried to block the work I do on childhood obesity,” Obama has said. “And that’s really saying something.” Obama usually closes her remarks with a personal story about a young woman she mentored named Rashema Melson, and she has become choked up on more than one occasion while recounting it. In detail, she tells the story of the death of Melson’s father and the family’s bouts with homelessness, then reflects on what it means. Kids like Rashema, “so desperate to lift themselves up,” don’t give up, and neither, the first lady says, can she, the president — or the voters she is speaking to. Finally, Obama urges voters to get themselves to polling places on Election Day. Watching her campaign this year, its clear that Obama’s enviable popularity — forged in part through her savvy use of social media — translates to lively crowds at political rallies. Dunn described her style — which is anything but wonky — as appealing to casual Democratic voters. She also has developed a pop-culture cachet that few political figures pull off. A video of the first lady dancing with a turnip, to the beat of the hit song “Turn Down for What,” has been viewed more than 32 million times on Vine since it was posted in early October. At the rally she attended in New Haven — intended to boost election turnout for Gov. Dan Malloy, who is locked in a close race — she was showered with praise before taking the microphone. Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro (D-Conn.) called Michelle Obama “a force of nature.” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) worked the crowd that had gathered for the event in the gymnasium of a high school into a roar when he told them that he was filming a video to show Obama their excitement before she took the stage. The first lady embraced the rowdy audience, praising their energy. While she chafed last year when a gay rights activist heckled her during a fundraising speech — even threatening to leave the event — Obama confidently handled heckling from immigration reform protesters in New Haven. A few minutes after the first lady began speaking, a young woman loudly and repeatedly shouted that she was a “dreamer” and urged support for legislation that would provide a path for legalization for some undocumented immigrants. The “dreamers” are young immigrants brought to the country illegally as children; President Obama has deferred the deportations of many of them through executive action. “We love you, babe,” the first lady shouted back. “We really do.” As the heckler continued on inaudibly because of the din of the crowd trying to shush her, Obama kept talking. “We have so many issues,” she said, as the protester kept yelling. “I hear you, sweetie. I will wait and let you finish,” Obama said, looking out into the crowd. “I’m going to wait and let you finish, babe. I hear every word you’re saying.” Tashi Sanchez-Llaury, one of the protesters, later said she appreciated Obama’s response. “She heard us,” Sanchez-Llaury said. “We didn’t want to heckle her. We were just here to ask her to sympathize.” Obama, who has been described as a perfectionist, was able to laugh at herself last month when she realized she was mispronouncing the name of Bruce Braley, the Democratic Senate candidate in Iowa. The gaffe made the loop in the media and some late-night television shows, which love a funny political misstep. Obama shook it off. “I’m losing it. I’m getting old. I’ve been traveling too much,” she said onstage, and a few weeks later, she campaigned for Braley again and pronounced his name correctly throughout the speech. |