theprestige
Penultimate Amazing
I think Obama has been wise to not endorse anyone until the nominee has been determined. Endorsing someone too early could result in that candidate not being the actual nominee and then Obama having to support him/her as an 'also ran'. No....it's better to wait. Unlike Trump, I think Obama thinks ahead.
It'll be one of history's unanswered questions: If Obama had endorsed one of the candidates earlier, would it have cleared the field and cemented their nomination? Or would it have turned out even worse than what has actually happened?
It also raises some speculation about the nature and scope of Obama's popularity. His endorsement of a candidate during the primaries matters, if lots of Democrats like him and value his opinion on these things. Waiting until after the nominee has been chosen makes his popularity with Democrats largely irrelevant.
On the other hand, endorsing the nominee heading into the general election only matters if lots of independents and moderates on both sides like him and value his opinion on these things. The Democrats have already picked their candidate without his input. Will his input in the general influence how many non-Democrats vote for the nominee?
I agree with you about the risks, though: What if Obama had endorsed someone, and then discovered that his popularity wasn't enough to carry their nomination? I think you're right that Obama thought ahead. I think he thought ahead, and realized that the safest play is to wait for the primaries to conclude, and then add his support to whoever the Democrats had already decided to support anyway.
And I think Obama really has quit the life. I think that even after the primaries are over and the candidate is chosen, Obama will still keep to the sidelines.
With his community organizing experience and his political connections, probably the best thing Obama could do right now is team up with Greta Thunberg and work on something that really matters to all of humanity now and in the future. In the meantime, though, he's probably going to have to endorse Joe Biden.