President Obama and 2016

The President in 2008

President Barack Obama has grown on me a lot since 2008. He's shown himself to be a sober-minded, responsible President who gets the hard things right. He's also been in the spotlight almost a decade now, and the luster that appealed to the masses in 2006 at this time is gone. He knows that, and he's prepared to be a good team player:

"I think the American people, you know, they're gonna want-- you know, that new car smell," Obama said in an interview with ABC's "This Week" that aired on Sunday. "They wanna drive somethin' off the lot that-- that doesn't have as-- as much mileage as me."

Host George Stephanopolous asked Obama if he would give Hillary Clinton room to "separate" from him on certain issues if she needs to.
"And I am very interested in making sure that-- I've got a Democratic successor. So I'm gonna do everything I can, obviously, to make sure that-- whoever the nominee is is successful," Obama responded. "And she's not gonna agree with me on-- on everything. And, you know, one of the benefits of-- running for president is you can stake out your own positions."

There's a reason why the President and the former Secretary of State were the best two politicians in the country when they went head-to-head, and that shows when you hear talk like this. Hillary Clinton went into his administration and was a good soldier for him. He's now saying that he'll be a good soldier for the nominee- as he should be.

Regardless of who the nominee is, President Obama can have a key role in rallying parts of our base vote, and getting them to the polls in 2016. He remains fairly popular with the base of the party, even if he's not with the general public. The gridlock with Congress should help his standing over time, as will the oncoming nostalgia for his early Presidency. If used right, the President can be a big player in this oncoming fight. He seems ready to do just that.