Where's the Enthusiasm? Damning Videos Show Not Even Obama Can Bring Crowds for Biden
Much has changed since the end of the George W. Bush administration, when then-presidential candidate Barack Obama was drawing masses of eager onlookers everywhere he went and the Democratic Party had an energized and unified base.
What gives? The former president held a drive-in rally for Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden in Philadelphia on Wednesday, and few people had any interest in seeing him speak, according to images of the event.
Obama’s car rally for Biden in Philadelphia. Walmart has more cars on a Wednesday afternoon. pic.twitter.com/pJCXX8veSr
— Gregory Jon (@gregoryjon) October 21, 2020
Obama walks up to a group of Biden supports and they don’t seem very enthusiastic. Neither does Barry. pic.twitter.com/AZYqVk6P79
— Jack Posobiec ?? (@JackPosobiec) October 21, 2020
Obama later brought out a megaphone to speak to tens of people on the street.
This is embarrassing pic.twitter.com/fese5b9myg
— Jack Posobiec ?? (@JackPosobiec) October 22, 2020
It was embarrassing.
It’s easy to forget, amid all the current enthusiasm for President Donald Trump, that Obama was once as big as the Beatles circa 1964.
From 2007 to 2008, and even in 2012, Obama built and courted a strong coalition of voters and was a magnet for crowds who were war-weary and wanted to hear his promises of peace and prosperity.
Some people at Obama’s rallies were fainting, while others were crying from apparently being inspired.
Obama was young and spirited, and he struck a chord with a great many people.
Biden, at that time, told us that the then-senator from Illinois was “the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy.”
That seemed a harsh and insensitive summary, but those were his words. Biden later corrected himself and apologized.
Obama did have an articulate message, though. Even if you didn’t agree with his politics, you could see why people fawned over him.
He had a message of “hope” that resonated with the Democrats’ liberal base and drew in people who were far less radical in their politics.
That was the last time Democrats were seemingly on the same page about anything.
Now, for the second presidential election in a row, the party has crowned the perceived safe bet for the party’s establishment — who, again, simultaneously seems to be the worst candidate of the bunch.
Biden is a human quagmire, and he might be even more flawed than 2016 nominee Hillary Clinton was.
Democrats and the establishment media portray him as a safe bet of a candidate who we can count on, thanks to all those years in government.
But Biden has major problems, and one of them seems to be his inability to garner any enthusiasm.
The 77-year-old can’t draw crowds, nor can high-profile surrogates on his behalf.
Look at what Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont went through when campaigning for Biden in New Hampshire earlier this month.
.@BernieSanders takes the stage here in Lebanon, New Hampshire!
Together, we can elect @JoeBiden and @KamalaHarris as our next president and vice president — tune in to Senator Sanders’ speech here: https://t.co/ZoiY8iiHhc #NHPolitics pic.twitter.com/7BSqQktvMi
— NH Democratic Party (@NHDems) October 3, 2020
Crickets.
Just seven months ago, Sanders arguably had a coalition of voters with enthusiasm that rivaled that of the Trump base.
Look at vice presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris’ small crowd of supporters from Wednesday in North Carolina.
A good look at campaigning during a deadly respiratory pandemic: @KamalaHarris steps down off stage to socially distant greet folks, her detail quickly hands her a black mask before she gets to close, then Harris proceeds to bump elbows and take a socially distant selfie pic.twitter.com/rhY4CYC8ET
— Jasmine Wright (@JasJWright) October 21, 2020
There is nothing exciting about Harris, but she is the first minority woman to be attached to a major party ticket, so you’d expect more than a couple of dozen people to show up for her.
Democrats and their identity politics tell us that because of Harris’ gender and ethnicity, we should be all jazzed up about her, but the enthusiasm simply isn’t there.
Enthusiasm wasn’t there in New Hampshire for Sanders.
Enthusiasm was nowhere to be found for Obama in Philadelphia on Wednesday.
Democrats haven’t seen the old Obama level of enthusiasm in many, many years.
They failed to institute a full government takeover of education and health care, Obama deported illegal immigrants in massive numbers and he waged a drone campaign in the Middle East that put off many liberals.
The party never closed Gitmo, the Obama administration built cages for illegal immigrant children, and Democrats never pulled the troops out of Afghanistan and Iraq, despite having every opportunity to do so.
Many liberal voters were ultimately left feeling disenfranchised by Obama’s two White House terms.
Now, many of those same voters have had Biden forced onto them by the party’s establishment.
Some polls show Biden ahead of Trump by double digits, just as they did four years ago for Clinton, yet there doesn’t seem to be any enthusiasm for the career politician.
Sure, the coronavirus pandemic is still with us, but that hasn’t stopped Trump from attracting thousands of supporters, nor has it deterred the left’s rioters from rioting or protesters from protesting.
It’s hard to imagine Obama, Sanders or Harris are turning people away from their events.
Regardless of what polling says, Democrats can’t seem to get people to congregate for Biden’s candidacy.
Not even the party’s rock stars can make it happen.
Perhaps Obama and Sanders are no longer the attractions they were, back when they were promising expansive social programs and leftist pipe dreams.
Or perhaps not even the Beatles, all the way back to their “Can’t Buy Me Love” days, could channel enthusiasm for Biden.
Truth and Accuracy
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.
Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.
