Obama in Cleveland

Last Saturday Obama was in Cleveland for a rally.  Betty and I spent much of the afternoon watching the whole thing on YouTube beginning with all the Democratic officials and minor candidates then those for Governor and Senator. Kind of like a mini convention. Somewhat boring but at least we still can have political rallies. I went down to the county office building for early voting on Tuesday. 

Here is the Obama speech (captioned). From the articles in NYTimes and WAPO looks like this is shaping into a battle between Obama and Trump. Trump is really going to be disturbed if the Republicans lose both races in Ohio.  Some of the analysts are saying that while he is campaigning hard, he is likely more concerned about controlling the Republican party into the indefinite future than controlling the House and Senate for the next two years. After all he has been governing by executive order with the blessing of the Supreme Court.

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Obama Issues Searing Attacks on Trump, Ramaswamy in Midterms Rally Speech - The New York Times

Mr. Obama has engaged heavily with midterm races, taping dozens of ads for candidates. But until Saturday, his time on the trail had been limited to light campaigning in the spring with James Talarico, the Democratic nominee for Senate in Texas.

Mr. Obama made late endorsements over the weekend in Florida, backing David Jolly, the Democratic nominee for Florida governor, and Angie Nixon, the left-wing Democratic Senate nominee, who would be Florida’s first Black senator. 

Mr. Obama was the last Democratic presidential candidate to carry Ohio, which was once seen as a quintessential swing state but has been drifting toward Republicans for years. Democrats have grown increasingly optimistic about their chances in the midterm elections in Ohio, though, as the state’s agriculture-heavy economy has buckled under the weight of the war in Iran and the president’s tariff policies.

In bluer Michigan, the Democratic Senate nominee, Dr. El-Sayed, has been trying to shore up his support from Black and Jewish voters. Republicans see his race against Mike Rogers, a Republican former congressman, as their best chance to flip a Senate seat.

Democrats emerged divided from a bitter Senate primary race between the progressive Dr. El-Sayed and Representative Haley Stevens, a moderate. Some Jewish Democrats in Michigan say they are concerned by Dr. El-Sayed’s fierce criticism of Israel and are torn about whether to support him. Tensions between Michigan’s Black and Arab American communities have also challenged Dr. El-Sayed.

At his evening rally, Mr. Obama, a more moderate Democrat, acknowledged differences that Dr. El-Sayed had expressed with his presidency in the past.

“You know who else doesn’t agree with everything I do?” he asked the crowd at a high school gymnasium. “Michelle Obama.” 

Mr. Obama suggested there would be power in sending Dr. El-Sayed to Washington to join Senator Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, a Jewish Democrat who has endorsed Dr. El-Sayed.

“Imagine the power duo of Abdul and Elissa,” Mr. Obama said. “You’ve got a Muslim man, you got a Jewish woman fighting for you in the United States Senate. That’s something, Michigan, you can be proud of.”

The appearances by Mr. Trump and Mr. Obama on Saturday were striking in their contrasting styles: While Mr. Trump’s speech was lengthy and meandering, Mr. Obama’s two speeches were far more scripted. Mr. Trump spoke longer in his one speech than Mr. Obama did across two.