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President Joe Biden is reaching into the past to shore up support for his reelection bid.

The Biden campaign is planning a fundraiser with former President Barack Obama, who served as commander in chief from 2009 through early 2017, and former President Bill Clinton, who was first elected to office more than 30 years ago.

Yet Biden, 81, ran four years ago on a promise to be a bridge to the next generation of Democratic leaders, a transition that has yet to take place. His continued presence in the spotlight has invited questions as to the fitness of the partys younger generation.

While both Clinton, 77, and Obama, 62, remain beloved figures within the party, some question whether Democrats would do well to look forward rather than back. Biden struggles to connect with younger voters, who may be unimpressed with figures from previous decades, and minority voters who have been trending toward the GOP in recent election cycles.

Clinton and Obamas influence still circulates in the form of whispers and even polls about former first lady Michelle Obama running for the White House. A January poll of Democratic voters from the Center Square had Michelle Obama winning a plurality of respondents. Biden came in second.

Michelle Obama has said repeatedly she isnt interested in the job.

Another poll, from Harvard/Harris, revealed a scattershot of preferences if Biden were off the ballot, with 27% of respondents selecting unsure, Vice President Kamala Harris in second at 15%, someone else at 13%, 2016 Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton drawing 8% support, and everyone else at 7% or below.

Harris has faced her own questions about electability and whether she can connect with voters. Her approval rating sits at 35.5%, per the RealClearPolitics average, a historically low figure that is four points below that of her boss. She is also tasked with reaching a wide swath of voters and could use help from state-level Democratic surrogates.

Other figures have drawn at least some buzz about a future presidential campaign, mostly notably Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA). But Newsom has built so much of a national profile that he often draws questions about when his own presidential campaign will start, which could undermine the Biden campaign rather than boost it.

Beyond Harris and Newsom are a slew of governors who show promise but have not yet broken out on the national stage, such as Govs. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI), Andy Beshear (D-KY), and Wes Moore (D-MD).

At the other end of the spectrum are Democratic superstars of decades gone, such as Clinton and Obama, who can still electrify a crowd but who represent the past rather than the future.

Biden is trailing his likely GOP rival, former President Donald Trump, 46.6% to 44.8%, per the RealClearPolitics polling average, and his party is working to overcome an enthusiasm gap among base voters between the two.

The Biden campaign insists its doing just as well or even better than Clinton in 1996 or Obama in 2012. For example, it boasted in January of raising over $97 million in the fourth quarter of 2023, with $117 million in cash on hand, more than Obama raised at the end of 2011.

I remember when [Obama campaign manager Jim Messina] told me to shoot for $100 million in Q4 of 2011, Biden finance chairman Rufus Gifford posted on X. Even the much-praised Obama fundraising machine couldnt get even close and we scratched and clawed our way to $68 million as I was refreshing our totals on New Years Eve.

Yet the problematic polling and questions about Bidens age as he seeks to remain in office until age 86 have critics calling the three-president fundraiser a risky move.

We know what theyre dealing with here, which is a serious enthusiasm gap, GOP strategist Jim Merrill said in a Fox News interview. This is a calculated risk putting Joe Biden, who, anytime hes on stage is a potential liability for his own reelection, up with two of the most influential spokespeople for the Democratic Party over the last 25 years. So it certainly could blow up in their face.

The fundraiser also folds into questions about the depth of the Democratic bench beyond Biden, his presidential predecessors, and strong campaign surrogate Harris.

The Biden/Obama/Clinton fundraiser hasnt been formally announced but is likely to take place in March or April. Organizers hope it will generate both cash and headlines, with older voters excited to see the three men in the same room.

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Party leaders insist that each will help out in their own way as Biden makes the last run of his 50-year political career.

The Obamas drum up incredible excitement still, but the surrogate tapped really depends on the audience theyre speaking to, Tom Cochran, a Democratic strategist and a partner at 720 Strategies, previously told the Washington Examiner. Whitmer, Moore, Beshear, Newsom are all excellent in the right setting. Most important is stressing that this is a team effort to keep the White House for the Democrats.

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Democrats turn to the past to gin up support for 81-year-old Biden - Washington Examiner

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WOODLAWN An affordable apartment tower near the Obama Presidential Center site will soon receive a long overdue rehab, and residents will relocate as their units are renovated, the buildings owner said.

The Island Terrace high-rise, 6430 S. Stony Island Ave. in Woodlawn, will get repairs to its electrical and plumbing systems, windows, roof, boilers and faade.

All 240 apartments will receive kitchen, bath, flooring and other improvements, and the existing parking structure will be replaced with surface parking lots.

Preservation of Affordable Housing, a nonprofit with numerous properties in the neighborhood, bought the building in 2021 for $29.5 million and secured another $117 million to finance repairs in December. Construction is expected to take up to two years.

While there have been repairs made over the years, there really hasnt been a comprehensive rehab since the property was built in 1970, said Bill Eager, the nonprofits senior vice president of Midwest operations. This is long overdue, as the buildings systems are in rough shape. Almost all of those have to be replaced.

The nonprofit aimed to make all units affordable for renters making 30-80 percent of thearea median income, Eager said in 2021. As construction takes place, officials are expanding the long-term affordability of the property but will come up short of that goal, he said this month.

About 220 of the 240 units will have affordability restrictions, compared to 99 when Preservation of Affordable Housing took over at Island Terrace, Eager said. The remaining 20 will remain market-rate.

Hopefully, when were done, it should be a much nicer place to live, he said. Certainly, it should be set up for better long-term operations and affordability.

As unit repairs take place, residents will move out in stages starting in late May or early June. Tenants will be relocated two floors at a time for about eight weeks each, starting with the top floors, Eager said.

Plans are still being finalized, but officials expect to use the Jackson Park Terrace apartments another Preservation of Affordable Housing complex a few blocks down Stony Island Avenue to temporarily house Island Terrace residents, Eager said.

Tenants rent payments will be the same, while Preservation of Affordable Housing will cover any difference in utility costs and pay for moving expenses, he said.

If residents have any accessibility or transportation needs stemming from the move that for whatever reason arent met, welltry to help them with that, Eager said. But officials dont foresee many such issues, as theres only a short distance between the properties, he said.

Theres no cost to any of this for the residents, Eager said. Theres the inconvenience of having to move for two months, which is hopefully offset by the fact that their apartments should be in much better shape when they return.

The commitment to maintain affordable housing at Island Terrace comes as South Siders work toprevent displacement in the communityahead of the Obama Centers planned construction in Jackson Park.

The effort led to the citys approval ofhousing protections for Woodlawnin 2020 and to the introduction of a proposed South Shore housing ordinance to City Council in the fall with support from local alds. Desmon Yancy (5th) and Jeanette Taylor (20th).

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Island Terrace, An Affordable Tower Near The Obama Center, Preparing For Total Renovation - Block Club Chicago

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The U.S. President Who 'Created' Donald Trump, Barack Obama and Biden  The National Interest Online

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Fox News forced to censor Trump as he rants about Gavin Newsom and Michelle Obama  Raw Story

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High-level Democrats are expressing concerns that President Joe Bidens campaign isnt following former President Barack Obamas reelection strategy enough.

Bidens reelection campaign has been growing the infrastructure in states key to keeping him in the White House, but some swing-state Democrats worry the president is taking too long to do so, according to a report.

In contrast, the Obama 2012 campaign had a large campaign machine of its own,Organizing For Action, and largely shunned the Democratic National Committee. Biden, meanwhile, is embracing the DNC as part of his bid.

State parties and local organizations were not part of the equation in 2012, New Hampshire Democratic Party Chairman Ray Buckley told CNN. The fact that the president has heavily invested in building up the strength of the state parties versus what happened in the first term of Obama I think youre going see the results of that.

However, Democratic strategists and even some Biden insiders reportedly said it is time for Biden to open up his checkbook. CNN also reported that Democratic operatives are frustrated with the slow buildup of state teams and infrastructure.

Following Obamas successful reelection run, DNC operatives were unhappy with the former presidents strength of cutting funding.

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Former President Donald Trump won the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary, setting the stage for a rematch with Biden. In the weeks following and surrounding Trumps wins in the early voting states, Bidens reelection campaign rolled out state operatives in seven battlegrounds thatll sway the 2024 election, including Arizona, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, and Wisconsin.

While Biden is ramping up efforts in states where hes polling below Trump, some Democratic strategists believe Biden was too slow in sending out reinforcements, with less than 10 months until the general election in November.

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