After Her: A Collaborative 2016 Timeline

[brucejoel99]

BARACK OBAMA
(Democrat)
Fighting For Us



U.S. Senator from Illinois since 2005

Background

2008 presidential run

Obama announced his decision to run for the 2008 presidential election on Februay 10, 2007. Early in the race, New York Senator Hillary Clinton was considered the frontrunner for the Democratic Party, and actively sought her party's nomination. Clinton ran ahead in the polls, until Obama began pulling ahead following the South Carolina primary. In the prolonged primary battle that ensued, despite receiving more than 17 million votes, Obama lost the nomination to Clinton. Clinton won the general election against Arizona Republican Senator John McCain on November 4, 2008.

Post-2008 election

As soon as Obama ended his 2008 campaign there was talk of him running again in 2012 or 2016 After he was re-elected to the Senate in 2010 and Clinton was re-elected as President in 2012, speculation picked up sharply, particularly when he listed his occupation on social media as "Senator, TBD". In the meantime, Obama continued his work as a Senator, particularly supporting the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial oversight legislation.

Anticipating a future run, a "campaign-in-waiting" began to take shape in 2014, including a large donor network, experienced operatives, the Ready for Obama and Priorities USA Action campaign political action committees (PACs), and other campaign infrastructure.

By September 2013, amid continual political and media speculation, Obama said he was considering a run but was in no hurry to decide. In late 2013, Obama told ABC's Barbara Walters that he would "look carefully at what I think I can do and make that decision sometime next year"; and told ABC's Diane Sawyer in June 2014 that he would "be on the way to making a decision before the end of the year."

Decision-making process

While many political analysts came to assume during this time that Obama would run, he took a long time to make the decision. While Obama said he spent much of the two years following the 2012 presidential election thinking about the possibility of running for president again, he was also noncommittal about the prospect, and appeared to some as reluctant to experience again the unpleasant aspects of a major political campaign. Those around him were split in their opinions, reportedly, with Michelle Obama said to be the most in favor of him running again, his children leaning towards it, but several of his closest aides against it. He reportedly studied Clinton's 2008 campaign to see what had gone right for Clinton as compared to his own campaign Not until December 2014, around the time of the Obamas' annual winter vacation in Hawaii, did he say he decided for sure that he would indeed run again.

Expectations

According to nationwide opinion polls in early 2015, Obama was considered the front-runner for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination. He had gained a broader sweep of early endorsements from the Democratic Party establishment in the 2016 race than he did in 2008, although he did face several primary election challengers, and, in August 2015 Vice President Evan Bayh was reported to be seriously considering a possible challenge to Obama.

Obama had a very high name recognition of an estimated 99% (only 11% of all voters said they did not know enough about him to form an opinion) and according to Democratic pollster Celinda Lake, he has had strong support from African-Americans, and among college-educated women and single women.

In Time magazine's 2015 list of "The 100 Most Influential People", Obama praised Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, who herself was considered as a potential challenger to Obama, for being a "progressive champion". Warren decided not to run for president, despite pressure from some progressives.


Announcement

The Obama campaign had planned for a delayed announcement, possibly as late as July 2015.

On April 3, 2015, it was reported that Obama had taken a lease on a small office at 130 East Randolph Street in Chicago. It was widely speculated that the space would serve as his campaign headquarters.

On April 12, 2015, Obama formally announced his campaign at his first major campaign rally, at Grant Park in his home city of Chicago, Illinois.

In his speech, Obama addressed income inequality in the United States, specifically endorsed universal pre-kindergarten, paid family leave, equal pay for women, college affordability, and incentives for companies that provide profit sharing to employees. He did not address free trade agreements during the kickoff speech, but made statements the next day suggesting that the current negotiations should be abandoned unless improved.

The campaign said more than 5,500 people were in attendance, but estimates of crowd size by the press in attendance were less.

According to John Cassidy, staff writer at The New Yorker, Obama, up to a point, took a populist tone: "While many of you are working multiple jobs to make ends meet, you see the top twenty-five hedge-fund managers making more than all of America's kindergarten teachers combined. And often paying a lower tax rate. So, you have to wonder, 'When does my hard work pay off? When does my family get ahead? When?'... Prosperity can’t be just for C.E.O.s and hedge-fund managers. Democracy can't be just for billionaires and corporations. Prosperity and democracy are part of your basic bargain, too. You brought our country back. Now it's time—your time—to secure the gains and move ahead."


People

Campaign staff

Many key people from the unsuccessful 2008 campaign returned. David Axelrod, who was in charge of Media in 2008, returned to Chicago to work on the campaign as the top communications official. Jim Messina moved to Chicago to serve as campaign manager. Matthew Barzun, the former U.S. Ambassador to Sweden, served as finance chairman. Jennifer O'Malley Dillon, who worked at the Democratic National Committee as an executive director, was named deputy campaign manager. The other deputy campaign manager was Julianna Smoot, who was the 2008 finance director. Ben LaBolt served as national press secretary. LaBolt worked for Sherrod Brown's 2006 Senate campaign, as Obama's senate press secretary, for the 2008 campaign, and for Mayor of Chicago Rahm Emanuel; Katie Hogan and Adam Fetcher, who each worked on the 2008 campaign, served as deputy press secretaries. Rahm Emanuel was expected to play a role in the campaign. Emanuel worked on President Bill Clinton's successful 1992 and 1996 campaigns. Rufus Gifford served as Finance Director, Elizabeth Lowery served as Deputy Finance Director, Jeremy Bird served as National Field Director, Marlon Marshall served as Deputy National Field Director, Mitch Stewart served as battleground state Director, and Elizabeth Jarvis-Shean served as Research Director. Katherine Archuleta was named political director.

[brucejoel99]

I'll go for Wesley Clark. (If I could do two at the same time is that allowed? If it is, I'll also take Rand Paul or Mark Sanford )

Sure two at same time seems fine!

Also it looks like NHI claimed Obama first. Brucejoel99 would you be ok as someone else?

Yeah, no problem; I'll take Biden (damn, though; less-than-8-minute difference lol)

[brucejoel99]

JOE BIDEN
(Democrat)
Fighting For Us



U.S. Senator from Delaware since 1973

Background

2008 presidential run

Biden announced his candidacy for President of the United States on the January 7, 2007 edition of Meet the Press. He officially became a candidate on January 31, 2007 after filing papers with the Federal Elections Commission. Biden had run for president once before, but his 1988 presidential campaign had lasted for only three and a half months; he had been forced to withdraw due to controversies arising over reusing other politicians' speeches without credit, and falsely recollecting parts of his academic record. If elected, Biden would have been the first sitting Senator and Roman Catholic to be president since John F. Kennedy, and the first President to be born during World War II. (b. 1942)

During the campaign, Biden focused on his plan to achieve political success in the Iraq War through a system of federalization. He touted his record in the Senate as the head of several congressional committees and experience in foreign policy. Despite a few notable endorsements, Biden failed to garner significant support in opinion polls, and was marred by controversial comments made while campaigning. He ultimately dropped out of the race on January 3, 2008, after capturing less than 1% of the vote in the Iowa caucus.

Post-2008 election

Biden first mentioned his intentions to run for president in 2016 on the Morning Joe talk show on December 5, 2012. In July 2013, Biden said, "I can die a happy man never having been president of the United States of America, but it doesn't mean I won't run." In a November 2013 interview, Biden laid out several reasons for mounting his own presidential run, including universal health care, a nuclear deal with Iran, and the opening of Cuba. In the January 20, 2014 edition of The News Journal, Delaware's largest daily newspaper, columnist Harry F. Themal reported that Biden "occupies the sensible center of the Democratic Party." Biden later said in an interview on February 7, 2014, "There’s no obvious reason for me why I think I should not run." In a March 6, 2014, interview with The Nation, Biden stated that he was "prepared to run for President of the United States" in 2016, but did not officially announce a campaign. When pressed on the issue, Biden said he was discussing the possibility with people around the country, but felt that it was premature to make an announcement. After the 2014 congressional elections, in which Biden won re-election to an eighth term in the Senate in a landslide, Biden continued to discuss running for president.

President Hillary Clinton commented on Biden, Barack Obama, and Evan Bayh when asked to compare them, stating, "Evan, Barack, and Joe would all make outstanding presidents, and possess the qualities that are needed to be outstanding presidents."


Announcement

On April 28, 2015, Delaware Free Media reported that Biden would announce his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination on April 30. In an interview with USA Today on April 29, Biden stated that he was "running in this election to win," and launched a campaign website, effectively beginning his run. Biden said he was motivated to enter the race by what he termed "the dangers to the security of the average American, not just from the terrorist threat, but from the lack of health assistance, crime, and energy dependence on unstable parts of the world."

On May 26, 2015, Biden officially announced his candidacy at Wilmington's Chase Center on the Riverfront.


People

Campaign staff

Biden has a small circle of advisors, including his chief of staff, Ted Kaufman, his deputy chief of staff, Steve Ricchetti, his senior adviser, Shailagh Murray, Tom and Mike Donilon, Ron Klain, and his sister, Valerie Biden Owens.

[brucejoel99]

Joe Biden at the August 2015 New Hampshire Voter Forum

(1a). "I'm running because of my burning conviction that we need to fundamentally change the balance in our economy and the political structure to restore the ability of the middle class to get ahead."

(1b). "I believe we should be playing a part in accommodating these mostly women and children who are fleeing chaos. We're not taking much of a chance at, as Germany and other places are doing now, accommodating refugees. Now, first of all, the governors don't have authority over who can come and who can't come. That's number one. Number two, the vetting system for people coming through the United States is significant. And ISIS is not an existential threat to the United States of America. No matter what ISIS does, they can't bring down the American government, they can't fundamentally alter our structure. They can do what they do well: they can try to instill terror by terrorist acts to get us to do the very thing that they hope we'll do, and that is close down our system. Terrorists only win when in fact we respond by closing down the things we value instead of keeping them open."

(1c). "I think the idea of focusing significant resources on interdicting or convicting people for smoking marijuana is a waste of our resources. That's different than legalization. My policy for my Administration would still not be legalization, and that is and will continue to be my policy."

(2a). Shortly after Biden met with MA Sen. Elizabeth Warren on August 22, 2015, to discuss economic policy, Warren endorsed Biden. "Throughout his career, Senator Biden has been a champion for middle-class families and has fought against powerful interests. In the Senate, he succeeded in making a bipartisan bankruptcy bill fairer by demanding protections to help low-income workers, veterans, members of the military, women and children... despite opposition from the largest employer in his state. I absolutely support Joe Biden as a candidate for president."

(2b). In early 2015, Biden bizarrely boasted of his "great relationship" with Somali cab drivers in Wilmington, DE, his hometown. At the Summit on Countering Violent Extremism, Biden was discussing areas where East African immigrants have settled in the United States, including the "very identifiable" Somali community in Wilmington. "If you ever come to the train station with me you'll notice that I have great relationships with them because there's an awful lot of them driving cabs and are friends of mine, for real," Biden said.

[brucejoel99]

I'm going to have withdraw as Barack Obama. If someone else would like to play him, please go ahead.

I cry (see Page 1)... but I'm gonna stick w/ Biden lol