By Robert Laurie ——Bio and Archives--December 12, 2014
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We believed in an unlikely candidate who no one thought had a chance. We worked for him -- and against all odds, we won in Iowa. We organized like no campaign had organized before -- and won the Democratic primary.
We built a movement -- and the country elected the first-ever African American president. We know that the improbable is far from impossible. Now, former staffers from President Obama's campaigns, along with former staffers from OFA, are joining with the thousands of Americans who are calling on Elizabeth Warren to run for president in 2016. Rising income inequality is the challenge of our times, and we want someone who will stand up for working families and take on the Wall Street banks and special interests that took down our economy. We urge Elizabeth Warren to run for president in 2016.This letter forgets to mention a couple of facts. The first is that Elizabeth Warren will never be able to generate the grass roots "hype" that Barack Obama managed to create. She's a big snooze. No one should underestimate the power of the "first black President" narrative. Electing America's "first white female fake Cherokee President" just doesn't have the same bumper-sticker "ring" to it. The second - and more important - thing it ignores are the results of their 2008 and 2012 efforts. Yes, these staffers managed to elect a little known community-organizer-turned-barely-active-senator. Admittedly, no one saw it coming. Unfortunately for them, he went on to be a disaster in the White House. He and his policies - which many of these people subsequently helped to create and implement - are deeply unpopular. His tenure is widely regarded as an abject failure both domestically and abroad. So, while "300 former Obama staffers" endorsing Elizabeth Warren will play to the base, they'll have to forgive middle America if it feels like less than a glowing recommendation. On the other hand, this is how the nation shifted during the Obama era: This is the real legacy of "300 former Obama staffers." If they're eager to continue that trend, maybe Warren isn't such a bad choice after all.
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