Former President Barack Obama is resurrecting his “hope and change” mantra for Democrats ahead of the midterms, urging voters to “turn hope into action.”
In a digital ad for the Democratic National Committee (DNC), Obama speaks directly to the camera, giving a pep talk to voters.
“I’ll be honest with you. I never imagined some of the stuff that’s been going on in our country lately,” Obama said, failing to provide details.
“But I am energized by the millions of Americans who are taking a stand and demanding change, even when it’s hard. That’s what hope is all about,” he said, resurrecting his 2008 “hope and change” slogan.
“It’s never blind optimism. It’s grounded in a clear-eyed recognition that tough things happen and the world is deeply imperfect. But we have agency. We make choices about what we stand for and what we believe in. So I’m asking you today to use that hope to make a difference,” he continued, urging voters to help Democrats win what he described as “one of the most consequential elections in our country’s history.”
Obama added, “Because the most powerful office in this country has always been citizen, and right now, every one of us can help turn hope into action.”
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According to CBS News, these six-figure ad buys are “aimed at supporting the DNC’s [Democratic National Committee] mobilization efforts, driving voter turnout and boosting grassroots fundraising, according to a DNC official.”
The report also claims that Obama has raised over $13.6 million for Democrats ahead of the midterms in a variety of ways, including “finance events” and mailers. The former president recently headlined an event for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, telling donors “not to get complacent.”
“There are states right now in play that I would not have imagined being in play,” Obama told donors in the fireside chat. “If you had told me, and — I know I’m the hope guy — but if you had told me that the polling currently shows James Talarico ahead of Ken Paxton… I would have said, ‘Eh, I don’t think so.’”
“All these races that are showing we’ve got a 2- or 3-point lead or it’s a toss-up, we could end up losing all of them by 2 points,” he said. “It’s within the margin of error.”
He also warned that the country will be in a very bad place if President Trump has full reign for judicial appointments, previewing a “very serious danger to democracy.”
“If you get two more years of Trump acting with impunity, along with additional judicial appointments, so that at some point the scales may tip in the direction where he’s got carte blanche, you now have a very serious danger to democracy in addition to just bad policy,” Obama said.
That fundraiser alone totaled $3.6 million for Democrats.
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