Folks, I almost spilled my coffee reading this one. Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed had a “really warm” conversation with former President Barack Obama, and I’m supposed to be excited about it. I mean, who wouldn’t want to talk to Barack Obama, right? The guy’s a legend. But what really caught my attention was that El-Sayed described the conversation as “really, really warm” – I guess that’s politician speak for “we didn’t disagree on everything.” Anyway, it’s interesting to see how the Democratic Party is trying to unite behind El-Sayed after a pretty brutal primary.
So, it turns out that El-Sayed and Obama talked about how to bring Democrats together to win the Senate seat in Michigan. Because, you know, that’s not a daunting task at all. I mean, it’s not like the Democrats have been struggling to find common ground or anything. But seriously, El-Sayed has his work cut out for him – he needs to build a coalition to win the battleground state, and that’s not going to be easy.
Apparently, Obama’s political brand is still a big deal, and his name was all over the place during the Democratic primary. There were even TV ads featuring Obama and tying him to El-Sayed’s opponent, Haley Stevens. I’m not sure what’s more surprising – the fact that Obama’s name still carries so much weight or the fact that outside groups spent so much money on those ads.
Now, I know some of you might be thinking, “Big Elephant, why are you being so cynical?” And to that, I say, “Hey, someone’s got to keep things real around here.” But in all seriousness, it’s going to be interesting to see how El-Sayed navigates the general election. He’s already facing an uphill battle, and the Republicans are going to do everything they can to exploit the divisions within the Democratic Party.
I have to give El-Sayed credit, though – the guy’s got some guts. He’s been compared to Obama on the campaign trail, and he’s even said that he watched Obama’s speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention and felt like he saw himself reflected in politics for the first time. That’s pretty cool, I guess. But let’s be real, folks – this election is going to be a wild ride, and I’m just here for the popcorn.
In the end, it’s all about winning, right? And El-Sayed needs to figure out how to build a coalition to take down the Republican nominee, Mike Rogers. It’s not going to be easy, but hey, if anyone can do it, maybe it’s the guy who’s being compared to Barack Obama. And who knows, maybe Obama will even join him on the campaign trail – a guy can dream, right? Anyway, that’s my two cents on this whole thing. Take it for what it’s worth, folks.
Armchair patriot. Believes in the free market, cold beer, and that there’s always a guy named George behind every CNN segment.
Former remote-throwing champion turned #1 couch commentator on liberal panic in the media. Born in Texas (or so his mug says), he earned a degree in Fake Newsology & Beer Philosophy from YouTube University.
