President Obama has never or rarely visited some states that didn't support him in either election, an absence that is leading to growing dissent among voters and a lack of support by representatives and senators from those states, reports John Harwood of The New York Times.
As president, Obama has never been to several red states -- North Dakota, South Dakota, Arkansas, Idaho, South Carolina and Utah -- and has only once traveled to Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Tennessee and Wyoming, reports Harwood. Obama lost all those states in 2008 and 2012. In contrast, Obama has visited the swing states of Ohio 39 times, Florida 30 times, Colorado 19 times, Iowa 18 times and Nevada 17 times. He won all those states in both elections.
David Axelrod, who has advised Obama from the start of his career, told Harwood, “A lot of where the president goes has to do with where he can influence the public to influence the people in Congress who are potential votes. It’d be great for him, if he had the time, to barnstorm the red states and meet people. I don’t know how fundamentally that would change things.”
Some disagree. Matthew Dowd, who was George W. Bush's campaign strategist, met with Obama in 2008 when he was running for president, telling him “I hope you’re going to be the president of the country, not just leader of your party,” reports Harwood. Dowd said Obama’s engagement with adversaries in and out of Washington has been too narrowly focused, “about a transaction and not about a relationship.”
Among those who has said Obama needs to travel more in red states is Al Cross, director of the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, which publishes The Rural Blog and is based at the University of Kentucky. He told Harwood that in remaining a stranger, Obama has allowed negative sentiment toward his presidency to deepen and harden. He said Obama should remember, “You’re president of the whole country.” (Read more)
As president, Obama has never been to several red states -- North Dakota, South Dakota, Arkansas, Idaho, South Carolina and Utah -- and has only once traveled to Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Tennessee and Wyoming, reports Harwood. Obama lost all those states in 2008 and 2012. In contrast, Obama has visited the swing states of Ohio 39 times, Florida 30 times, Colorado 19 times, Iowa 18 times and Nevada 17 times. He won all those states in both elections.
David Axelrod, who has advised Obama from the start of his career, told Harwood, “A lot of where the president goes has to do with where he can influence the public to influence the people in Congress who are potential votes. It’d be great for him, if he had the time, to barnstorm the red states and meet people. I don’t know how fundamentally that would change things.”
Some disagree. Matthew Dowd, who was George W. Bush's campaign strategist, met with Obama in 2008 when he was running for president, telling him “I hope you’re going to be the president of the country, not just leader of your party,” reports Harwood. Dowd said Obama’s engagement with adversaries in and out of Washington has been too narrowly focused, “about a transaction and not about a relationship.”
Among those who has said Obama needs to travel more in red states is Al Cross, director of the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, which publishes The Rural Blog and is based at the University of Kentucky. He told Harwood that in remaining a stranger, Obama has allowed negative sentiment toward his presidency to deepen and harden. He said Obama should remember, “You’re president of the whole country.” (Read more)
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