Turns out an Obama will hit the campaign trail for Sen. Michael Bennet in the closing days of the 2010 Election after all–just not President Barack Obama:
Sen. Michael Bennet, an incumbent Democrat who has tried to downplay his allegiance to President Barack Obama of late, will welcome First Lady Michelle Obama to Colorado next month.
Obama, who was at first reluctant to immerse herself in politics, is planning to visit five states to campaign and raise money for Democratic members of Congress trying to defend their seats.
She’ll be in Colorado on Oct. 14, according to the White House. No other details about the visit have been released.
In a conference call with reporters Tuesday, administration officials noted that the First Lady will be campaign on the Obama administration’s record, something many of the candidates she’ll be looking to help have been reluctant to do.
Ken Buck’s campaign called the visit “payback” for the administration’s “favorite rubberstamp.”
As BATTLE ‘10 reported two weeks ago, the President’s October campaign plans did not include a stop in the key battleground state of Colorado, a surprising decision given Obama’s personal attachment to the state (nomination at the Democratic National Convention and the stimulus bill signing) and the state’s prominence in relaunching Democratic fortunes over the last three election cycles.
Colorado’s GOP Chairman Dick Wadhams told BATTLE ‘10, “It is an always an honor to have the First Lady in Colorado. I would hope the accidental senator would invite President Obama for a reenactment of the signing of the failed ‘stimulus bill’ here in Denver eighteen months ago.”
As soon as Bennet won a hotly contested primary in August, in which Obama’s support undoubtedly played a large role, the Senator moved quickly to rhetorically distance himself from the President.