DES MOINES, Iowa — President Barack Obama won’t be on the ballot in 2016, but on Monday he showed he’s looking for ways to put his imprint on the race to succeed him.
With the fall campaign intensifying, Obama showed up in Iowa, the key caucus state that was crucial to his own political rise and which will have the first say in winnowing the current crop of candidates.
Officially, Obama came to Iowa to hold an education town hall meeting and announce plans to let aspiring college students apply for federal financial aid earlier. But his visit was also an opportunity to draw attention to Democratic policies and contrast them with Republicans trying to reclaim the White House.
“There’s no doubt that Democrats in general tend to prioritize educating our workforce and expanding access to education for middle class families,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters traveling with Obama. “That’s something many Republicans haven’t prioritized.”
The president’s trip was pegged to Education Secretary Arne Duncan’s annual back-to-school bus tour. If Obama had wanted to stay out of the campaign fray, however, he could have joined Duncan in one of the six other states the secretary is visiting.
Instead, Obama chose Des Moines, the capital of a politically important state that sparks nostalgia for the president and his closest advisers. Iowa voters carried Obama to a surprise victory over Hillary Rodham Clinton in the 2008 Democratic caucuses. He returned to the state on the eve of the 2012 election for his final rally as a candidate, an emotional event that drew 20,000 supporters.
Even in a state flooded with candidates seeking to carve out their own legacy, Obama’s advisers know that a presidential visit — with the spectacle of an Air Force One arrival and a big motorcade speeding through the city — still garners attention.
Republicans hoping to replace Obama certainly noticed. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio wrote an op-ed article in Monday’s Des Moines Register about his own higher education plans, saying he would reform the college accreditation system and bring down tuition costs by allowing new schools to compete with traditional institutions.
Rubio said Obama’s education policies, including his proposal for free community college, only “double-down on Washington’s failed strategy of spending more taxpayer money on the same outdated model.”
The president wasn’t scheduled to meet with any presidential candidates while in Iowa, including former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, the Democratic front-runner who was holding events a few hours away. Still, he was joined by White House political strategy director David Simas, who typically joins Obama on travel involving campaign fundraisers or other overtly political events.
For Obama, keeping a Democrat in the White House could be crucial to the longevity of many of the actions he’s taken while in office. Stymied by Congress, he’s wielded his executive power to implement changes to immigration and energy policies, among other issues. He also acted alone to re-establish diplomatic relations with Cuba and will leave the next president a non-binding nuclear agreement with Iran.
By acting on his own authority so often, he’s risked having many of his policies wiped away or reversed by a future president. Several candidates vying for the Republican nomination have vowed to pull out of the Iran deal, upend the Affordable Care Act and end some Obama immigration policies.
The president has been sharply critical of the Republican field, comparing candidates to a wacky uncle who shows up at Thanksgiving.
“You still love him, he’s still a member of your family, right?” Obama said in July. “But you’ve got to correct him, you don’t want to put him in charge of stuff. That’s all I’m saying.”
Obama hasn’t endorsed any of the Democratic contenders, though he’s said Clinton — his former rival-turned ally — would make an excellent president. His spokesman has said the president feels the same about Vice President Joe Biden, who is weighing making a late entry into the race.
