Former President Barack Obama took to social media this morning to make an announcement about his first round of 2018 endorsements for Democrats, a highly-coveted list for most Congressional aspirants both long-serving and new to the game.
It was a welcome reprieve for those on Twitter and Facebook who had been subjected all morning to the incoherent rants of President Trump, who has been railing on and on about the Russia investigation — at one point comparing his former campaign manager Paul Manafort’s treatment at the hands of prosecutors to that of convicted mafia boss Al Capone, although in an effort to sound smart, Trump spelled Capone’s full name out incorrectly.
Obama had no time for nonsense like that, as he never does. When he has something to tweet, there are no declarations in it, and no news agencies are scrambling to cover his every word — he just consistently says things that far more Americans respond to with likes and retweets than Donald Trump does.
Today’s endorsements notably do not include any races in which the Democratic primary has not yet been decided. That’s the only even-handed way to make sure that the candidates Democrats want most in their own districts are represented, and then he can endorse them on the national stage once they’ve gotten the approval of their own constituents.
The list was extensive. Here are the images released by President Obama:
In total, Obama endorsed 81 candidates today from a wide variety of states, districts, and backgrounds — men and women, white and people of color, straight and LGBT — for just as wide an array of positions, from governorships all the way down to state legislatures.
Well-wishers were quick to post their thanks to the former President, with many stating that they often base their votes on the endorsements of a politician they know and trust. And after what America has been subjected to over the last 19 months, it’s hard to imagine that Obama’s legacy hasn’t grown even more romanticized in our collective consciousness.
Featured image via screen capture
