WASHINGTON (AP) -- Less than a week before Election Day, President Barack Obama is using the power of his office to reach Democratic voters in a final effort to get supporters to the polls and nudge close races in his party's favor and limit congressional losses.
Though Obama is off the campaign trail for three full days this week, he's personally targeting key Democratic constituencies from the White House, holding conference calls with union activists and campaign volunteers, and doing interviews with radio stations that draw largely black audiences. He'll also target younger voters when he tapes an appearance on satirical news show "The Daily Show" with Jon Stewart on Wednesday.
The president will wrap up the week with a final campaign swing through five states where Democratic candidates are locked in tight contests.
It's a homestretch strategy based on how the White House believes the president can be most effective in an election in which his name is not on the ballot but his agenda is up for debate. According to a recent Associated Press-GfK poll, nearly half of likely voters say their votes for the House of Representatives are intended to send a message about Obama.
Republicans have strong prospects for winning at least 40 seats to take control of the House, where all 435 seats are at stake. Some Democrats who swept into the office during the wave of enthusiasm for Obama's campaign in 2008 are struggling to defend their seats at a time of voter anxiety about the weak economy, high unemployment and disillusionment with the president.
He is also trying to preserve the Democrats' Senate majority with a final campaign swing that includes stops in Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Illinois, where his party is defending the seat once held by Obama. The odds are against Republicans gaining the 10 seats they need for a majority in the 100-seat Senate.
White House officials say that while they still see value in the large rallies Obama has been holding across the U.S. this month -- he'll headline three more this weekend -- they also recognize that with just six days until the election, many voters have already made up their minds. The president's time, they argue, can sometimes be better spent getting voters who already support his agenda to the polls rather than trying to win new converts.
"You've identified who your voters are," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Tuesday, adding that now is the time to get those voters motivated to show up on Election Day.
Obama held a conference call with thousands of union activists Tuesday night to thank them for all the hours they've spent knocking on doors and working phone banks to boost voter turnout for Democratic candidates.
Union officials said Obama was acknowledging the critical role that organized labor's get-out-the-vote machine will play in helping Democrats hold onto as many congressional seats as possible.
The president took a tougher tone Tuesday during an interview with American Urban Radio Networks, telling Democrats their fate in the election is in their own hands.
"If we turn out at the levels we turned out in 2008, we'll win," he said. "It's pretty straightforward."
That argument will be a central part of Obama's message during his final campaign stops, beginning with a trip to Charlottesville, Virginia, Friday on behalf of embattled Rep. Tom Perriello. Obama will also take part in a voter canvassing event Saturday in Philadelphia and headline rallies in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and Chicago the same day.
Obama will be joined by Vice President Joe Biden for a rally in Cleveland on Sunday, his final stop before Tuesday's elections.
Though the president has made numerous campaign trips in recent weeks, White House communications director Dan Pfeiffer said Obama aides had long planned for the president to spend much of the final week before Election Day in Washington, noting that Obama's duties extend beyond the campaign trail.
Officials say the president has been getting daily updates on the elections during meetings with his senior advisers. He also gets more detailed guidance on individual races from state and local officials when he's on the road campaigning for candidates.
With the president in Washington for much of this week, the White House is also relying on Biden, first lady Michelle Obama and former President Bill Clinton to rally Democrats on the road. Biden has campaign stops planned every day through Sunday.
The first lady is wrapping up a West Coast campaign swing in Los Angeles on Wednesday and will hit the trail again Monday with events in Las Vegas and Philadelphia.
On Tuesday, Clinton campaigned in Chicago with Democratic candidates for senator, governor and Congress at a rally for several hundred party faithful at a downtown hotel.
Polls this week show Republicans with a slight edge in both the Illinois Senate and governor's races. Republican Congressman Mark Kirk had a small lead over Democratic state treasurer Alexi Giannoulias in the Senate race. Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn is slightly behind his Republican challenger, state lawmaker Bill Brady.
It would be embarrassing for Democrats to lose Obama's old Senate seat and another coup for Republicans, who claimed the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy's seat in Massachusetts.
Clinton told rally goers Tuesday to tell voters about the benefits of what Obama and the Democratic Congress have done and remind people what is at stake.
"Everything they voted for two years ago could be put at risk if they stay home this time, you have to tell them that," said Clinton, who delivered a nearly hour-long speech often heavy on policy details.
Republicans said Clinton's visit will remind Illinois voters what's wrong with Washington.
Republican National Committee spokesman Ryan Tronovitch in a statement said that "each time a high level national Democrat comes to town, voters across Illinois are reminded of the big-government, tax-and-spend agenda that led to 9.9 percent unemployment and failed to jump-start the economy."
Published: Thu, Oct 28, 2010
