Hours after urging reporters not to draw sweeping conclusions from Tuesday's gubernatorial elections in New Jersey and Virginia, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs told POLITICO President Barack Obama wasn't even keeping an eye on the results.
"He's not watching returns," Gibbs said.
The Obama administration and other top Democrats have consistently tried to play down the import of this week's contests, which Republicans have sought to portray as a referendum on the Democratic-led government in Washington.
In Tuesday's White House press briefing, Gibbs dismissed suggestions that the two governor's races and a special election in upstate New York could be a preview of the 2010 congressional midterms.
"I don't think, looking at the two gubernatorial races, you can draw with any great insight what's going to happen a year from now," he said.
But while Obama may not have been following Tuesday's returns, he and Vice President Joe Biden campaigned repeatedly for candidates in all three of the night's key races.
As recently as Sunday, Obama stumped in New Jersey for incumbent Gov. Jon Corzine, who has struggled in an uphill battle for reelection against former U.S. Attorney Chris Christie, a Republican.
On Monday, Biden visited New York's 23rd congressional district to appear at an event for Democratic congressional candidate Bill Owens, who was running against Conservative Party nominee Doug Hoffman.
Both Obama and Biden made stops in Virginia for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Creigh Deeds, but the White House had expressed frustration in recent weeks at the state senator's performance on the campaign trail. Deeds conceded defeat to Republican Bob McDonnell, a former Virginia attorney general, early in the evening.
No comments:
Post a Comment