Syndicated columnist Charles Krauthammer empathized with Democrats running in toss-up Senate elections this fall, stating that President Barack Obama’s “all of my policies are on the ballot” is the “worst thing” that could have happened to these candidates, who’ve been trying to make their races as local as possible.
Krauthammer also told host Bret Baier what Obama said “makes no political sense,” as he’s supposedly trying to help his party retain the U.S. Senate.
“Can you imagine if you’re a Democratic candidate running in a tight race, and your one great theme is ‘I’m not Obama.’ And you’re trying to make the race a local race. Republicans obviously are trying to nationalize it because of unpopularity of Obama, and he comes out and he makes this statement. Alison (Lundergan) Grimes has been saying over and over ‘I’m not Obama,’ and now of course he says this election is about my policies. This is the worst thing that could have happened to them when they are trying to hold on.”
“When you see the numbers you showed: In 2010, which was, as Obama said, a ‘shellacking’ for Democrats, there was an eight point advantage for sending a message against Obama over sending a message in support, and now it’s a 12 point advantage. This is a very bad environment. It’s bad enough that Obama’s presence would hurt these candidates. He never shows up in any of these states because no candidate wants him there, but now he’s imposed himself with that statement in his speech. I can only attribute it to a matter of pride on his part. It makes no political sense.”