“It’s really about Obama against Bush and Biden against Trump, not the other way around,” said Emanuel. “We have built a robust and lasting economic growth. And I think that comparing one to the other is, historically, not necessary. Also, more importantly, it is not strategically advantageous. “
David Axelrod, who served as Obama’s chief strategist, said he believed the current criticism was born out of a desire to avoid a medium-term bombing similar to what Democrats suffered in 2010.
“It’s just boring in the sense that it was a totally different situation,” said Axelrod. “If Obama’s economic background was deficient, I’m sure Joe Biden would not have run for it.”
In many ways, the maneuver is a substitute for greater tensions within the party. Obama’s united circle is intensely dedicated to protecting his political legacy. A growing left wants more investment in health and the fight against climate change, and a break with the hard-line immigration policy. The Biden administration is looking to chart its own path.
In a recent speech to Democrats in the House, Biden argued that it was Obama’s “humility” that cost Democrats at the time, because the president did not spend enough time explaining the benefits of his stimulus package to the American people.
“Barack was so modest that he didn’t want to, as I said, take a ‘victory lap’,” said Biden. “I always said, ‘Tell people what we did’. He said: ‘We don’t have time, I won’t turn around the victory’, and we pay a price for that, ironically, for that humility ”.