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Former President Obama has emerged as a key player in the Democratic presidential primary race.

He hasnt put his thumb on the scale for any one candidate in particular. But in two different speeches this month, he has made clear that presidential hopefuls would be wise to avoid moving too far to the left if they hope to win back the White House in 2020.

Some party strategists and operatives say that by throwing the weight of his legacy and influence into the simmering ideological debate between the Democratic Partys progressive and moderate wings, the former president has the potential to reshape the dynamics of the primary race.

His latest remarks came last week as Obama met with party donors in California, where he urged Democrats to chill out about the primary contest and prepare to rally behind the eventual nominee. But he also appeared to warn against calling for too drastic of change.

When you listen to the average voter even ones who arent stalwart Democrats, but who are more independent or are low-information voters they dont feel that things are working well, but theyre also nervous about changes that might take away what little they have, Obama said.

For some Democrats, Obamas remarks reinforced their concerns that the primary field has lurched too far to the left and that the party may be barreling toward a loss in 2020 unless it can unite behind a moderate nominee capable of appealing to a broader swath of voters in the general election.

I think that to some extent Obama is the canary in the coal mine, said Dick Harpootlian, a former chair of the South Carolina Democratic Party who is supporting former Vice President Joe BidenJoe BidenButtigieg: 'I was slow to realize' South Bend schools were not integrated Yang raises almost 0K in a single day Judiciary Democrat: House impeaching Trump not a 'foregone conclusion' MOREs presidential bid.

Hes warning Democrats that if you buy an agenda that is not relevant or salable in November, youre guaranteeing Donald Trump a second term.

Obamas remarks came as the Democratic primary fields top tier finds itself divided along ideological lines.

Biden, who served as Obamas vice president for eight years and is seen as the standard-bearer for the partys moderate wing, leads in most national polls.

Likewise, another moderate, South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete ButtigiegPeter (Pete) Paul ButtigiegButtigieg: 'I was slow to realize' South Bend schools were not integrated Yang raises almost 0K in a single day Booker launches first 2020 digital campaign ad MORE, has seen a recent burst of momentum in Iowa and New Hampshire, the first two states to vote in the 2020 nominating contest.

Theyre competing, however, with two high-profile progressives, Sens. Bernie SandersBernie SandersButtigieg: 'I was slow to realize' South Bend schools were not integrated Yang raises almost 0K in a single day Booker launches first 2020 digital campaign ad MORE (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth WarrenElizabeth Ann WarrenButtigieg: 'I was slow to realize' South Bend schools were not integrated Yang raises almost 0K in a single day Booker launches first 2020 digital campaign ad MORE (D-Mass.), who have campaigned on platforms of sweeping, systemic change.

Politico reported that Obama has said privately that he would speak up to stop Sanders if the democratic socialist looked likelyto clinch the nomination, though a spokesperson reiterated that the former president would support and campaign for whoever is nominated.

Obama hasnt criticized any particular candidate and has offered praise for those proposing bolder ideas in the primary. Allies of the former president said that he is not looking to weigh in on the partys ideological battles, but rather that he wants to keep the field focused on defeating President TrumpDonald John TrumpPerry ends final day as Energy secretary Mexican officials detain suspects in massacre of members of Mormon sect READ: White House's letter to Nadler saying it won't participate in impeachment hearing MORE in 2020.

Rufus Gifford, who served as finance director for Obamas 2012 reelection campaign, said that the former president is aware that any remarks he makes about the Democratic primary fight will be heavily scrutinized.

But Gifford said that he took Obamas remarks more as a warning to voters not to let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

For him to weigh in, he knows that anything he says will be analyzed by the political media and the powers that be, Gifford said. But he can set a tone. The tone of this primary so far hasnt necessarily been negative but it hasnt been that positive either.

Hes weighing in to unify the party as much as he can; to help out without being some sort of master manipulator.

Regardless of his intentions, Obamas warnings in recent speeches to donors that most voters dont want to tear down the system and remake it sparked a backlash among some in the Democratic Partys progressive wing, who saw the comments as an implicit swipe at Sanders and Warren.

The remarks prompted the hashtag #TooFarLeft to trend on Twitter earlier this month, as progressives voiced outrage at the notion that their core principles health care as a human right, for instance were outside of political norms.

Peter Daou, a former adviser to 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary ClintonHillary Diane Rodham ClintonBennet shares video of him in Iowa: 'I'm just chillin' in Cedar Rapids' Trump's culpability is greater than Nixon's Chuck Todd challenges John Kennedy on Ukraine: Putin is only other person 'selling this argument' MORE who created the #TooFarLeft hashtag, acknowledged that the effort came about in part as a response to Obamas recent remarks. But he said that it was also intended to push back on a broader critique leveled by political elites to discredit those in the partys left flank.

Yes, I started the #TooFarLeft hashtag partly in response to #Obama's comments. But that wasn't the main reason, Daou tweeted. Too Far Left is the default attack line by the entire political/media establishment to dismiss progressives and leftists who want a better world.

Whether Obamas remarks have any tangible or lasting impact on the Democratic nominating contest remains to be seen. Some Democrats argued that the comments would help bolster the argument for voters to back a more moderate nominee, like Biden, Buttigieg or Sen. Amy KlobucharAmy Jean KlobucharYang raises almost 0K in a single day Klobuchar: 'I don't see' voting to acquit Trump in Senate trial Booker launches first 2020 digital campaign ad MORE (D-Minn.), who have all sought to occupy a sort of middle ground in the primary race.

I think it benefits the moderates people, like Joe Biden and Amy Klobuchar, Pete Buttigieg, Harpootlian, the Biden ally, said. Who does it discourage? It would be Elizabeth Warren and Bernie.

But Gifford, Obamas former finance director, said that even the opinions of someone as significant as Barack ObamaBarack Hussein ObamaTrillion-dollar deficits as far as the eye can see, and hardly a voice of caution to be heard Booker: 'If you want me in this race, then I need help' Bloomberg can't win, but he could help reelect Trump MORE will not reshape the race in its entirety.

Its not as if he will move the needle tremendously, Gifford said. What he can do is help to establish a more healthy political narrative.

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Obama looms over divided Democratic primary | TheHill - The Hill

The future First Lady at the time was interviewed with her husband while Barack was campaigning to become US President. In the interview Michelle and Barack sat down with their children Malia and Sasha, who were 10 and seven years old at the time. They spoke about family life and what it was like to be the daughters of a presidential candidate.

The former First Lady recalled the interview in her best selling memoir Becoming.

She said: Malia had her hair braided and Sasha wore a red tank dress.

As always, they were disarmingly cute.

The future First Lady joked how Malia was the familys junior professor and earnestly pondered every question.

She added: She said that her dad embarrassed her sometimes when he tried to shake hands with her friends and also that he bothered all of us when he left his campaign luggage blocking the door at home.

Michelle added how Sasha did her best to sit still and stay focused.

The youngest Obama only interrupted the interview once, asking her mother when they were getting ice cream.

The former First Lady wrote: Otherwise, she listened to her sister, interjecting periodically with whatever semi-relevant detail popped into her head.

JUST IN:Michelle Obama shock: Ex-FLOTUS 'could still run for President'

The former First Lady said: We felt like wed made a wrong choice, putting their voices into the public sphere long before they could really understand what any of it meant.

Nothing in the video would hurt Sasha or Malia.

But it was out in the world now.

Barack, presumptive Democratic presidential nominee at the time, told TODAY how they got carried away in the moment.

He said: We were having a birthday party, and everybody was laughing. And suddenly this thing cropped up.

I didnt catch it quickly enough. I was surprised by the attention it received.

The interview was conducted by Maria Menounos, who told MSNC how the Obama's daughters were not planned to be in the interview.

She said: The interview originally was just supposed to be the senator and his wife.

We get there and it was the Fourth of July, it was Malias birthday, the circumstances surrounding that day I think kind of lent themselves to a more comfortable atmosphere for the girls."

Ms Menounos claimed she was convinced it was spontaneous and that it was just kind of organic.

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Michelle Obama heartache: Ex-FLOTUS admits she made the wrong choice for her children - Express.co.uk

Michelle and Barack Obama at the Obama Foundation Summit 2019 in Chicago, IL.

Chicagos South Side Bronzeville neighborhood, a center of African-American life and culture, hosted the 2019 Obama Foundation Summit at the Illinois Institute of Technology on October 29, 2019. The Advancing Women in Product (AWIP) team was invited to cover the Summit as press, and from the perspective of a female empowerment and advocacy NGO.

Kira Alvarez, who is the Press Lead for Advancing Women in Product (AWIP), took time from her busy schedule as a researcher at Freie Universitt Berlin to cover the Summit for AWIP. Kira has taught and published throughout the U.S. and Germany, on topics such as diplomacy, history, and the intersection between science, technology, and society.

The South Side of Chicago was a deliberate choice. This region boasts a visionary past that has witnessed Ida B. Wells, President Obama, and Michelle Obama among others working toward social change. The Summit aptly chose the phrase Places Reveal Our Purpose as the conference theme, and touched on a number of pressing societal issues such as racism, poverty, and gender inequality. It showed that the South Side of Chicago is full of hope, love and energy that can inspire other places throughout the world. The critical role that communities and networks can play in supporting and promoting social advancement and opportunity was a powerful message from the 2019 Obama Foundation Summit.

Women leaders including Michelle Obama and Academy award nominee filmmaker Ava Duvernay spoke about their personal and professional journeys. These women showed that ambition and drive alone are not enough in pursuing a successful and fulfilling career. Support networks are key to achieving broader social change, especially for female advancement. This is in line with what researchers like Herminia Ibarra have remarked on the topic, that sponsors (both within and outside an organization) can help to accelerate careers and create opportunities. For Michelle Obama, support came from her family and a strong belief in self, which helped her overcome the prejudice she experienced growing up. For those who are looking to create their own support networks, search within your current social and professional networks optimizing for those that will generate new opportunities.

An example of community engagement from the Obama Foundation is the Girls Opportunity Alliance (GOA), a program that seeks to empower girls and their respective communities through education. AWIP was invited to the intimate GOA roundtable with Michelle Obama, which featured international educators from countries including Cambodia, Guatemala, and Malawi who tirelessly work on the front lines to improve girls lives. According to Michelle, the lack of investment in female education is an international emergency: What a waste. What a waste for society, what a waste for a family. What a waste for that girls soul to be trapped by her fate and not by her ability.

Michelle Obama with leaders from the Girls Opportunity Alliance (GOA)

The Girls Opportunity Alliance (GOA) empowers young girls in three dimensions: By growing an online network of grassroots leaders, by providing financial support for individual projects through GoFundMe, and by encouraging young people throughout the developed world to join the cause of promoting greater educational opportunities for women. GOA sees its work as not limited to a local or national context and therefore requires a transnational approach. Creating an alliance of young womens opportunities is ultimately about human rights. Investment in a network of girls education programs is key not just for the advancement of individual women, but also for the long-term advancement of societies. Being aware of opportunities outside ones immediate surroundings, especially if those surroundings are limited by lack of resources, can be extremely freeing. According to the Gates Foundation 2019 Goalkeepers report, the lack of access to education and jobs is destructive for everyone. It keeps women disempowered, limits their childrens life chances, and slows down economic growth.

The Summit also featured other Chicago leaders who stressed the creation of strong networks and equality in education. Among them, Obama Foundation Scholars, Aime Eubanks Davis and Dominique Jordan Turner, are founders of organizations that promote education and network creation. Ms. Davis, a 2018 Obama Fellow, is the CEO of Braven, an organization that works with universities and businesses to assist low-income, first-generation university students find employment post-graduation. Ms. Turner, a 2019 Obama Fellow, is the CEO of Chicago Scholars, a seven-year mentorship program that assists underprivileged Chicago youth in the college application process and subsequent employment search. Both Braven and Chicago Scholars are exemplary models of how organizations can provide disadvantaged students greater opportunities in the American educational system.

Many of the students that participate in the Chicago Scholars or Braven program have the talent and ambition to succeed, but lack networks to help them create and sustain a career and might otherwise fall through the cracks. The programs therefore closely mentor underprivileged students by leveraging a large network of support including college counselors, potential employers, and alumni. Ms. Davis stressed, referral networks are important in order to achieve career success. Simply having a college degree and talent is no longer fully sufficient for gainful employment in the American workforce that is the important lesson that these students are learning. Having the right skills through education is the first step but is much more effective when combined with a powerful support network.

We find a similar root cause with the lack of women representation in tech leadership and executive ranks: many women already have their foot in the door and are often highly educated but are often encountered with a glass ceiling. Organizations like Advancing Women in Product, Pink Innov, and the Operator Collective serve to stack the cards in the other direction: by creating opportunities where senior women can take a high-potential, rising leader under their wing. In a similar vein, these organizations are also creating communities and networks that encourage women to stay in the workforce and also introduce them to open leadership roles within the company as well as board seats for other companies.

The 2019 Obama Foundation Summit ultimately demonstrated that social change requires not just hard work, but also the creation and sustainment of networks. Girls Opportunity Alliance, Braven, and Chicago Scholars are important models that utilize networks to help women and minorities achieve their goals. Lets bridge the gap by building strong networks for ourselves and take our destiny into our own hands.

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Lessons From Michelle Obama And The 2019 Obama Foundation Summit: Empowering Communities Through Education - Forbes

Recently, there appeared in our finest newspapers The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal a spate of news stories that set official Washingtons mind at ease. As The Washington Post, put it, The Justice Departments internal watchdog (that would be Inspector General Michael Horowitz) is expected to find in a forthcoming report that political bias did not taint top officials running the FBI investigation into possible coordination between Russia and the Trump campaign in 2016. Nonetheless, the report will be criticizing the bureau for systemic failures in its handling of surveillance applications, according to two U.S. officials.

We shall have to wait until Dec. 9 to hear from Horowitz as to what those systemic failures were. Do these early reports on his work forecast a whitewash? It would appear so. But can anyone really take seriously that those systemic failures took place in the absence of bias? Such a claim requires a great deal of contortion. And the spate of stories last week suggests the form that contortion will take: Blame will fall not on Peter We Will Stop Him Strzok the virulent hater of President Trump who orchestrated the spying on the Trump campaign but on a low-level lawyer named Kevin Clinesmith. We are led to believe by these stories that while Clinesmith was biased against Trump Trumps victory had devastated him, he wrote in an email that bias never tainted his work or infected any of his colleagues. Many of whom, incidentally, are on record as sharing his bias. He was, you see, simply sloppy, or so the report is purported to say.

I read these happy, trouble-free news stories very carefully, and one thing struck me.Nowhere in any of the stories did anyone bother to ask the question: What precisely triggered the need for this investigation of the investigators?It did not start in a vacuum. Was it not largely precipitated by the discovery of the FBIs pervasive use of the Hillary-financed Steele dossier, upon which the Strzoks of this world relied for spying on Trump officials, all of whom turned out not to be Russian agents, as the FBI alleged?

Naturally, these stories skirt that issue. If Horowitz skirts that issue, too, his report will not amount to much, and we will have to look to Justice Department prosecutor John Durham for real answers. In April, Attorney General William Barr said, I think spying on a political campaign is a big deal. It has not ceased to be a big deal, even if Horowitz breezes over it.

What real grounds did the Obama administration have for its spying? That has never been satisfactorily explained. Consider the irony here. During the impeachment hearing, we have heard Democrat after Democrat intone gravely that nothing is more abusive than a president seeking to get foreigners to spy on a political rival. Yet is that not exactly what Obama did in letting the John Brennans and Peter Strzoks loose to spy on the Trump campaign with the help of foreign intelligence bodies, such as MI6? If it was wrong for Trump to try to get our ally Ukraine to investigate the Joe and Hunter Biden, as the Democrats assert, how can they possibly justify the Obama administrations use of foreign intelligence bodies to spy on Trump?

Now, what youre going to see, I predict, will be perhaps the biggest scandal in the history of our country, said the president of the coming revelations from Durham. Let us hope he is right. Spygate dwarfs Watergate in seriousness. After all, the Obama administration was not caught in a third-rate burglary but in a high-level scheme to weaponize both domestic and foreign intelligence instruments against a political opponent. For over two years, I have been predicting the Justice Department would find evidence of FBI and CIA agents working together to spy on Trump operatives. The Durham investigation will bear this out. The media, of course, will try to pit Horowitz against Durham. Do not fall for it.

R. Emmett Tyrrell Jr. is a syndicated columnist.

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Waiting for shoe to drop on Obamas use of spying - Boston Herald

Robert Hirsch of Miramar Beach takes issue with a previous letter to the editor about President Trump and the great things he has done, and points out President Obama actually deserves credit for those things.

The writer of All credit goes to Trump asked some questions and tried to make some points to which I would like to respond.

First, he tries to make the case that my investments are better since Trump became president. In 2008, right after Obama was elected and the stock market was in the toilet, I figured Obama would pull us out of the Bush recession and now was the time to invest. I was correct and my 2008 investments doubled. In fact, the markets continued rise is a credit to Obama, and, under Trump, the market has slowed and a new recession, according to economists, is just around the corner.

As for the Trump tax break, it is one big scam on the middle class. The tax law did away with exemptions, property tax deductions, and other deductions which help middle income families. To make it seem like such good thing, they lowered withholding, so workers initially received a bigger paycheck only to discover, come tax time, they had to pay it back. Sure, the standard deduction was increased but that will go down every year until 2015 when it will reach the 2017 level. The writer is probably retired and has a household of two so the loss of the exemption didnt hurt him like it would a young family with five in the household. Keep giving to charity, writer, because the middle class families may need the help in the next few years.

Now, in his opinion Democrats are not only anti-Israel but clearly anti-Semitic. On what does he base such an outlandish charge? Most American Jews are actually Democrats. Did he forget that the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is being indicted for corruption? Trumps rhetoric has emboldened the racist and ant-Semites, and attacks on synagogues, mosques, and black churches has reached a level not seen since the 1950s. Not to mention the separation of Hispanic children from their parents and their being confined to virtual concentration camps. How can anyone in their right mind defend such a man?

History will show that President Trumps corruption and other crimes far surpass anything the writer could imagine.

Robert Hirsch, Miramar Beach

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LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Trump reaping credit due Obama - The Northwest Florida Daily News