If you’ve been thinking that what the Democratic Party needs is former President Obama, well … behind the scenes, he’s still the party’s de facto leader. Though Obama has plenty to do with his time, he’s meeting with congressional leaders and possible 2020 contenders, too. He’s met with Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, former New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, and former Missouri secretary of state and Senate candidate Jason Kander—and of course he remains close with former Vice President Joe Biden.
He doesn’t see himself as the person to come up with the plan, people who know about the meetings say, but he is eager to be a sounding board and counselor to the Democrats he sees as playing a role in shaping the party’s future. [...]
Many of the conversations have circled around Obama holding forth about how much Democrats should be heading into the midterms talking about the investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 election versus focusing on kitchen table issues. Don’t chase the shiny objects, he tells them. Don’t hyperventilate over the flash of any tweet. Think about what’s going to stick in the long term.
Obama has also talked with Democratic Party leaders, has urged donors to give generously, and is planning a fundraiser for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee at the end of the month. In short, while he’s not dominating the headlines, he’s also still guiding the party in key, if quiet, ways.