Obamaland

It seems pretty apparent that the signature appeal of Joe Biden to most Democrats is his connection with Barack Obama. His signature appeal to moderates and some Republicans is that he is not Donald Trump, but Biden's appeal within the party is largely linked to Obama. Should he win the White House, we can count on many Obama/Biden alums becoming part of the Biden/Harris administration. This isn't especially unique. Every new administration needs people who "know the drawer where the good knives go."

Kamala Harris, though, seems another explicit link to Obama, even though she never served in his administration. The first time I heard of her was Obama mentioning her in a speech as a rising a star...effectively making her a rising star. (Although the comment itself was - to use today's parlance - "cringe.")

Needless to say, Obama didn't mentor Joe Biden, who already had decades of experience, though I think it's safe to say that Biden learned from Obama's political acumen. There are other examples of Obama's long reach into talent pools within the Democratic Party.  Much gets made of Bernie's acolytes like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib. They certainly represent new and vital voices within the party, especially as they replace older, temperamentally conservative members. We shouldn't ignore the long term impact that Obama will have on the Democratic Party though.