President Barack Obama seems to agree with the frequently voiced observation that Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-TX) is cut from the same cloth as he is, comparing their campaign styles and the authenticity that helped both men resonate with so many constituents.
O’Rourke is an “impressive young man who ran a terrific race in Texas,” Obama said on a live taping of David Axelrod’s podcast, “The Axe Files.” “What I liked most about his race was that it didn’t feel constantly poll-tested. It felt as if he based his statements and his positions on what he believed. And that, you’d like to think, is normally how things work. Sadly it’s not.”
“The reason I was able to make a connection with a sizable portion of the country was because people had a sense that I said what I meant,” Obama continued. “And that’s a quality that, as I look at what I’m sure will be a strong field of candidates in 2020, many of whom are friends of mine and whom I deeply respect. What I oftentimes am looking for first and foremost is, do you seem to mean it? Are you in this thing cause you have a strong set of convictions that you are willing to risk things for?”
He said that O’Rourke fit this description, as do “a number of people who are thinking about this race.”
Top Democratic staffers and donors will likely take note of Obama’s statements, many of whom are putting their 2020 plans on hold until the Texan congressman announces his intentions.
