Why Democratic Party Delegates Turned Their Backs on Barack and Michelle Obama

By: Donald V. Watkins

Copyrighted and Published on July 23, 2024

Barack and Michelle Obama

An Editorial Opinion

It’s time to take the private conversations about the Barack and Michelle Obama into the public forum.

In the waning days of Joe Biden’s presidential campaign, it was an open secret that Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, Adam Schiff, Hakeem Jeffries, Michael Bloomberg, James Carville, David Axelrod, and a host of other top Democrats wanted Biden out of the race.  He was not physically or mentally fit to compete with Donald Trump.

Their plan was to force Biden out of the race and handpick his replacement using the guise of an “open” convention in August.  They did not want Kamala Harris as the nominee because they did not think she could win against Donald Trump.  The internal polling available to them showed that only Michelle Obama could win against Trump.

These big-time politicos pressured Biden with phone calls and the veil threat of removal from office.  They also asked mega-donors to cut off Biden’s funding, which the donors did.  

With Barack Obama leading the effort behind the scenes to oust Biden, these Democratic leaders were sure that they had the collective juice within the ranks of the Party’s convention delegates to handpick Biden’s replacement.  Their goal was to engineer a scenario in which the delegates would draft Michelle Obama to run against Trump. 

An Embarrassing Miscalculation

Barack Obama and other Democratic Party leaders miscalculated two things -- (a) the perceived popularity of the Obamas within the Party, and (b) the speed at which Kamala Harris could corral the delegate votes needed to become the presumptive nominee. 

With the endorsement of an angry, disappointed, and hurt Joe Biden, Harris was able to garner her delegate votes in record time. The handpicking game was over before it started, and Kamala Harris won.

While Democrats, and Blacks in particular, admire Barack Obama for winning the presidency in 2008 and 2012, they privately vent about the fact that Obama did nothing to include Blacks in the economic progress that other groups in the Party enjoyed on his watch.  Yes, a couple of dozen Black business owners in Chicago, New York, and California fared well from their connections to the Obama administration.  However, Blacks, in general, suffered a double whammy from Obama's presidency.

First, Blacks endured the brunt of White America’s backlash from Barack Obama’s successive election victories.  This backlash has been sustained and brutal. 

For example, in 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court opened the door for corporations to flow the political scene with corporate money in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, thereby diluting the value of campaign donations from ordinary citizens. In 2013, the Court gutted Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act in Shelby County v. Holder,  thereby rendering the Act virtually meaningless in southern states.

Furthermore, affirmative action programs nationwide have been dismantled by federal courts, from top to bottom.  Additionally, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) has become a target on the backs of every Black and woman contractor and employee in the workforce, regardless of his/her/its superior qualifications.

Second, Barack Obama subjected Black Americans to the most severe form of benign neglect of any modern-day president.  He did absolutely nothing special for Black America, even though he received over 90% of their votes.

Since leaving the presidency, the Obamas have enriched themselves with lucrative book deals and speaker fees, as other former presidents have done. Meanwhile, financial security for Black families remains elusive.

Publicly, Blacks hold the Obamas in high esteem.  Privately, however, they bemoan the fact that Barack Obama did absolutely nothing to improve the plight of Black America. 

When he was campaigning for the presidency, Barack Obama wrote Black voters an attractive political check.  When they tried to cash it, the check bounced.

After Joe Biden’s disastrous debate performance in June, White Democratic leaders and mega-donors believed Barack Obama could force Biden from the race and handpick his successor-nominee.  They did not realize that Obama’s bank account of political goodwill with Black voters was overdrawn.  Barack Obama may not have known this fact, either.

Kamala Harris Now Owns the Democratic Party

Today, Kamala Harris owns the Democratic Party.

If she is successful, Kamala Harris’ election will stop four awful things from happening.  First, her election, per se, will kill the implementation of Project 2025. Second, Harris will surely kill any MAGA-sponsored legislation aimed at nationalizing a ban on abortions.  Third, a Harris presidency halts MAGA-backed efforts to pack the federal judiciary with out-of-touch, right-wing, political hacks who masquerade as judges.  Fourth, Harris will likely: (a) stop further tax cuts for super-wealthy Americans, (b) preserve Social Security and Medicare, as we know it, and (c) stop Big Pharma from gouging patients who desperately need costly prescription medicines.

At a minimum, this is what Americans can expect from Kamala Harris, should she win the election.  Her minimums, alone, will stop the bleeding among working class Americans. She may not be able to pass any significant legislation, but she can stop bad conditions from getting worse.

As for Barack Obama and his cohorts, their days of handpicking candidates in the Democratic Party are over.  Kamala Harris engineered a big win over the Obamas, of which she can be proud. 

No matter what they now say in public, none of the Party’s top leaders wanted Kamala Harris as the Party’s nominee.  She beat them all.

At this moment, Kamala Harris has the political juice in the Democratic Party, not the Obamas or Clintons.