Is Barack Obama Still the Leader of the Democratic Party?

Former President Barack Obama spoke at the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday in support of Vice President Kamala Harris, drawing media perspectives.

‘Galvanizing Force’: Jim Geraghty (Lean Right) of National Review (Right bias) praised Obama’s speech for how effective it was in firing up the Democrat base to vote for Harris this fall and described Obama, in tandem with his wife Michelle, as still the “galvanizing force within the Democratic Party.” Geraghty mentioned the “rapturous response” Michelle received, saying Republicans are “lucky” she has no interest in running for president.

Glorious Return: An analysis from Politico (Lean Left bias) claimed that Obama has “remained largely out of the spotlight over the last two years,” but that last night’s speech “reaffirmed his role as perhaps the party’s most effective and beloved messenger.” Its headline claimed Obama “absolutely skewered” former President Trump when he said Trump “hasn’t stopped whining about his problems since he rode down his golden escalator nine years ago.”

2008 Lingers: Michael Cuenco, writing for UnHerd (Center bias), blamed Obama’s administration for the rise of Trump in 2016 when it “preserved the structural status quo” in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crash and demonstrated an “inability to discern the depth of social displacement in its aftermath.” Cuenco argued that for the Democrats to win the presidency this fall, Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, must aim to “recapture disaffected just enough of these non-credentialed voters with promises of a more economically populist future.”