By Anthony LaBruto 11/01/2019
BOSTON- President Obama spoke on Tuesday about his concern that the Democratic Party is stressing ideological purity among its own party, rather than focusing outward.
At his annual Obama Foundation summit in Chicago, Obama said: “This idea of purity, and you’re never compromised, and you’re always politically woke, and all that stuff, you should get over that quickly… The world is messy. There are ambiguities. People who do really good stuff have flaws.”
While Democrats were able to retake the House as a result of opposition to President Trump, there is a continued debate about how to defeat him 2020. President Obama has stressed repeatedly the narrative that members of his party refrain from “’circular firing squad’ where you start shooting at your allies because one of them is straying from purity on the issues.”
Particularly the more seasoned candidates, like Joe Biden, are struggling to create a new, unified, vision for the party as a result of the former President’s legacy. “I think perhaps the objective is to serve as a reminder not to get caught up with things that aren’t about helping make people’s lives better and engaging people,” said Jen Psaki, a former consultant to President Obama.