Mark Udall is so desperate to distance himself from the president’s failed policies – policies Udall has supported 97 percent of the time since being elected to the Senate – that he now won’t attend a closed-door fundraiser with the president. It was reported yesterday that top Democrats – like Udall, John Hickenlooper, and Andrew Romanoff – were avoiding Obama at his public events during his visit to Colorado, citing scheduling conflicts.
A Colorado woman explained the situation nicely:
REPORTER: “Colorado’s Democratic delegation says it is more of a logistical issue why they can’t be here tomorrow, are you buying that?” COLORADO WOMAN: “No.” REPORTER: “Why not?” WOMAN: “Because I don’t think it’s true.” REPORTER: “Why avoid being with the president at an event here tomorrow?” WOMAN: “Because he’s down in the polls there’s a fear that perhaps that will hurt them.”
CBS Denver’s Dominic Dezzutti summed up Udall’s weak attempt to distance himself, writing:
“I think not appearing with President Obama on Wednesday can eventually hurt all three candidates because if ads want to connect them to Obama, awkward hug moments won’t be needed.
(Ahem, Udall voted with Obama 99 percent of the time in 2013!)
“…I can’t imagine if Udall and Romanoff are elected this fall that they intend to fight the President’s agenda. If they are planning to be supportive if they win the job, they should be supportive now and simply own it.”
Udall doesn’t want to own it though. Back in January Udall declined to give a yes or no answer when he was asked about whether or not he would campaign with Obama. We now know what Udall was really trying to say: “No way, Jose.”
Udall can distance himself from Obama in public, but Obama knows he can count on Udall when it counts in D.C.