2020 Dems grapple with Obama's call for women to lead, old men to step aside

Former President Barack Obama opined this week that the world would be better off if every country was run by women and old men got out of the way, creating an awkward moment for the old men pursuing the Democratic presidential nomination at Thursday night’s debate and an opportunity for the two women on stage.

“It demonstrates that Obama is refusing to state his preference about any specific candidates and has made it more complicated for Joe Biden, in particular, but also Bernie Sanders as older white male candidates,” said Tobe Berkovitz, a former political media consultant and a professor of advertising at Boston University.

At an event in Singapore Monday, Obama declared it is “indisputable” that women are better than men.

"I'm absolutely confident that for two years, if every nation on Earth was run by women, you would see a significant improvement across the board on just about everything ... living standards and outcomes," the former president said, according to the BBC.

Obama also laid blame for most of the world’s problems on “old people, usually old men, not getting out of the way.”

"It is important for political leaders to try and remind themselves that you are there to do a job, but you are not there for life, you are not there in order to prop up your own sense of self-importance or your own power," he added.

While he was not speaking specifically about the United States, it is difficult to overlook that Obama’s comments came amid a Democratic primary race in the U.S. dominated by two men in their late 70s, including one who served as his vice president. That reality led to some of the more memorable exchanges of Thursday’s PBS/Politico debate.

“I’m going to guess he wasn’t talking about me,” former Vice President Biden, 77, said when asked by moderator Tim Alberta of Politico to respond to the statement, insisting his age is one of his strengths because it gives him experience and wisdom.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, 78, acknowledged he is not only old and male but also white, but he disagreed with Obama’s suggestion that those characteristics make him a less-than-ideal leader. Instead, he argued what matters is bringing power to the powerless, regardless of age and gender.

“The issue is not old or young, male or female,” Sanders said. “The issue is working people standing up, taking on the billionaire class and creating a government and economy that works for all, not just the 1%.”

When Alberta noted Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, 70, would be the oldest president ever inaugurated, she fired back, “I’d also be the youngest woman ever inaugurated.” Like Sanders, Warren framed the discussion as one about power rather than age.

“I believe that President Obama was talking about who has power in America, whose voices get heard,” she said. “I believe he’s talking about women and people of color and trans people and people whose voices just so often get shoved out.”

Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, 59, also weighed in, downplaying the significance of gender compared to accomplishments and electability.

“I would be so proud to be the first woman president,” she said. “But mostly I want to be a president that gets things done and improves people’s lives.”

Experts say the candidates handled the confrontational question relatively well, though some played it better than others.

“This was probably one of the top moments for Klobuchar and Warren,” said Aaron Kall, director of debate at the University of Michigan. “It allowed them to both show some sense of humor and quick wit... It also showcased the old age of both Biden and Sanders, which can be a vulnerability.”

Though Sanders mainly pivoted to railing against the 1%, Jason Nichols, a progressive commentator and host of the “T.O.U.R. with Dr. Jason Nichols” podcast, said he made a compelling point about the need for a broad coalition to take on the oligarchy holding down American workers, even if a septuagenarian ends up leading it.

“If the best candidate is a man and he’s an old white guy, I think Americans are okay with that,” Nichols said.

Obama, who has not endorsed anyone in the race, has been signaling his preferences for months, repeatedly warning of the danger of driving the party to the left to satisfy liberal primary voters.

“Even as we push the envelope and we are bold in our vision, we also have to be rooted in reality and the fact that voters — including Democratic voters and certainly persuadable independents or even moderate Republicans — are not driven by the same views that are reflected on certain, you know, left-leaning Twitter feeds or the activist wing of our party,” he said at a meeting of the Democracy Alliance last month.

At a private Democratic Party fundraiser, Obama reportedly urged activists against imposing purity tests on candidates. While he encouraged the party to reach beyond what his administration was able to accomplish, he also cautioned against reaching too far.

“When you listen to the average voter — even ones who aren’t stalwart Democrats, but who are more independent or are low-information voters — they don’t feel that things are working well, but they’re also nervous about changes that might take away what little they have,” he said, according to The New York Times.

Though former President Obama remains enormously popular among Democrats, polls suggest they are not necessarily heeding his words with regard to the 2020 race. The two most progressive candidates in the field—Sanders and Warren—are supported by nearly 40% of primary voters, and disruptive ideas like eliminating private health insurance are backed by most of the party’s base, even as the general public favors less extreme solutions.

“I think those comments are nonsense, to be honest. You need big, bold ideas,” Nichols said of Obama’s stance, noting that whatever else one thinks of President Trump’s 2016 campaign promises, they were certainly big and bold.

He doubts the former president’s concerns will sway many voters because the campaign so far suggests the Democratic Party has moved on from Obama on many issues.

“Everybody wants to promote themselves and no one other than Vice President Biden is actually attaching themselves to Obama in any way, and if you watch last night, he was starting to distance himself,” he said.

According to Kall, an outright endorsement from Obama might have significant influence, but absent that—and he has indicated he does not intend to endorse anyone during the primaries—his occasional public thoughts on strategy are unlikely to change minds.

“I don’t think when most Democratic voters are thinking about who to vote for, they are thinking about what would President Obama do,” he said.

Berkovitz also questioned the accuracy of Obama’s read on the electorate, noting the party’s severe down-ballot losses throughout his presidency when he was campaigning for fellow Democrats.

“The bottom line is, he was superb at campaigning for Obama and pretty much an abysmal failure when it came to advocating for other candidates,” he said.

Top candidates attempted to laugh off the age question Thursday night, but similar doubts have loomed over Biden and Sanders—who would both be in their 80s by the end of their first term as president—throughout the campaign. At the first primary debate in June, Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., cited Biden’s own words as a presidential candidate in 1988 urging party leaders to “pass the torch to a new generation.”

When pressed about being an old white man running to lead a younger, more diverse party, Biden often highlights his decades of experience, and his campaign release a doctor’s report this week declaring him “healthy” and “vigorous.” He has denied reports he is considering a pledge to serve only one term if elected, and he again brushed that idea aside Thursday.

“Here’s the deal,” he said. “I’m not even elected one term yet, and let’s see where we are. Let’s see what happens. But it’s a nice thought.”

Sanders’ age has also caused some concern, particularly after he suffered a heart attack in October. However, he has maintained an active campaign schedule, allied himself with young progressive lawmakers, and effectively moved past the incident without incurring much political damage.

With President Trump himself in his mid-70s, it is unclear that age would be much of a handicap in the 2020 general election for an older Democrat. However, Nichols said a nominee like Biden or Sanders would be well-served by choosing a younger running mate, and preferably one of color.

“They’ve got to draw big contrast not just in message but in every other way with Trump,” he said.

Given the high stakes of this election and deeply polarized public opinion regarding President Trump, Berkovitz expects ideology and authenticity will matter much more to voters than demographics, especially for Democrats who often identify defeating Trump as their top priority.

“In the general election, whichever Democrat they nominate is running against a president the Democratic voter perceives as evil, old, white, racist, and out of touch, so no matter who the Democrats nominate, it’s going to be an improvement over that for their voters.”

Still, Nichols warned an all-old, all-white ticket could reinforce President Trump’s pitch to minority voters that Democrats take them for granted and are not doing enough for them. If those voters stay home next November, Trump’s path to reelection becomes much easier.

“You can’t have two old white guys because that makes it seem as though we don’t have qualified people of color or women or young folks,” Nichols said.