According to a recent report by CNN, President Joe Biden and his 2024 campaign have made the decision to deviate from the successful re-election strategy employed by one of his key advisors, Barack Obama.
The CNN report is titled, “How the Biden Campaign is Breaking with the Obama Reelection Mode.”
The report begins:
“President Joe Biden’s campaign has a message for impatient Democrats who want to see his campaign build out its operations in the battleground states more visibly and with greater urgency.
“That message: Don’t expect us to be Barack Obama.”
CNN reports that “[t]he Biden reelection campaign is rejecting the political organizing model that Obama used during his campaign for a second term in 2012.”
The outlet recalls that, in 2012, “Obama largely shunned the Democratic National Committee and opted instead to set up his own vast electioneering machine.”
Biden, on the other hand, is opting for an alternative path.
According to CNN, Ray Buckley, the chairman of the New Hampshire Democratic Party, elucidates the significant contrast.
Buckley told the outlet:
“State parties and local organizations were not part of the equation in 2012.
“The fact that [Biden] has heavily invested in building up the strength of the state parties versus what happened in the first term of Obama – I think you’re going see the results of that.”
The subsequent sections of the report provide an overview of the various approaches being pursued by Biden’s reelection team, as presented by CNN.
In the initial days of January 2024, the Washington Post released a report detailing a purported conversation between Obama and Biden. According to this account, Obama urged Biden to adopt the same campaign strategy he employed during his successful 2012 reelection bid. In all fairness, if the accuracy of the Post’s report is to be acknowledged, Obama’s primary concern seemed to lie in the individuals with whom Biden was aligning himself.
The outlet reported:
“During the lunch, Obama noted the success of his reelection campaign structure in 2012, when some of his top presidential aides, including David Axelrod and Jim Messina, left the White House to take charge of the reelection operation in Chicago.
“That is a sharp contrast from Biden’s approach of leaving his closest aides at the White House even though they are involved in all the key decisions made by the campaign…
“Obama also recommended that Biden seek counsel from Obama’s own former campaign aides, which Biden officials say they have done, the people said.”
During their discussion, Obama also conveyed his apprehensions to Biden about the insufficient sense of urgency in his campaign efforts, particularly when compared to Trump’s highly active campaigning.
In the past few weeks, Biden and his team have started to accelerate their efforts. However, it seems that they are not fully adhering to Obama’s advice.
