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President Barack Obama was ostensibly returning to the site of the first-in-the-nation caucuses to promote his higher education agenda. But during his short stop here, the undercurrent of the state's full-swing campaign season was unavoidable -- even as Obama himself said he couldn't keep track of all the candidates.

Asked during a town hall which presidential candidate was selling the best plan for making college more affordable, Obama demurred, claiming he wasn't yet ready to wade into sticky presidential politics. But he said he wouldn't say silent on the race forever.

"I can't tell you who to vote for, at least just not right now," he said. "Later I will."

Without naming any of the Republicans vying for the GOP nomination, Obama made clear he disagreed with many of their plans to fund higher education, saying the resources behind their proposals weren't sufficient.

And while he said he wasn't endorsing a candidate, he did chasten Republicans who he said were fueling an "anti-immigrant sentiment" in the political discourse.

Such rhetoric "is contrary to who we are," he said. "Unless you are a Native American, your family came from someplace else."

Obama wasn't the only high-profile Democrat in Iowa on Monday: Hillary Clinton, his former secretary of state, was 125 miles away in Cedar Falls.

They didn't cross paths, and even when questioned by a student who identified herself as an intern on Clinton's campaign, Obama didn't take the opportunity to praise her policy positions or record.

He also avoided weighing in on a proposal by Clinton's main rival, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, to make all public college tuition free.

His reluctance to step into the Democratic nominating contest can be explained by the undecided Vice President Joe Biden, who hasn't yet said whether he's running for president. Obama may endorse a candidate in the Democratic primary, the White House has said.

In his town hall Monday, Obama at times waxed nostalgic about the state that helped launch his improbable bid for the 2008 Democratic nomination, saying as he landed at the Des Moines airport the number of hotel points gleaned from long-term stays at a nearby Hampton Inn could qualify him for a least a few free nights.

In recent days, Obama has lambasted Republicans running for their party's nomination on topics like the economy and climate change, saying they'd take the country in the wrong direction if elected to the White House.

He's eager to remain relevant in the current political conversation, even as the race to replace him consumes more and more of the spotlight. And while he wasn't stumping for any particular candidate in Des Moines, his message on making college more affordable fit squarely within the Democratic messaging that candidates like Sanders and Clinton have been extolling.

"A society's values are reflected in where we put out time, our effort and our money. It's not sufficient for us to just say we care about education," he said, arguing that federal resources were needed to increase graduation rates and improve the quality of teaching.

The White House claims the decision to travel to Iowa wasn't made with political motivations; instead, they say the Department of Education put a pin on the state while planning the back-to-school bus tour the Education Secretary Arne Duncan embarks upon yearly.

But there are plenty of places Obama could have traveled to to underscore his administration's efforts in reducing student debt. On Monday, he announced that students applying for federal financial aid will be able to submit the required form -- the FAFSA -- in October, rather than later in January. He also said his administration had worked to simplify the form so it only takes twenty minutes to complete.

Obama's trip Monday won't be the only time this week the White House lands in a hub of presidential politics.

Biden plans to travel to Southern California on Wednesday to promote the administration's climate change agenda -- just as the Republican presidential candidates convene up the road for their second debate, hosted by CNN, at the Reagan Library in Simi Valley.

Like Obama, Biden hasn't been shy in blasting Republicans for doing little to curb carbon emissions.

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Obama slams GOP candidates' anti-immigrant rhetoric ...

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President Barack Obama gave a powerful eulogy at the funeral of Rev. Clementa Pinckney, the pastor of Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church and one of the victims in last weeks shooting in Charleston, South Carolina. He ended his speech by leading the crowd in "Amazing Grace" and saying the names of the nine victims. Watch the video.

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Barack Obama - News, Articles, Biography, Photos - WSJ.com

Your Meat-Eating Habit Is Killing More Than Just Cows -- says a new report, which cites the land degradation, pollution and deforestation caused by rising global demand for meat as "likely the leading cause of modern species extinctions."

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Getting our own house in order by creating a common-sense solution to fix preventable methane leaks should make it easier to build a convincing case for other countries to take meaningful action on climate.

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Barack Obama News, Photos and Opinion - HuffPost Politics

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Barack H. Obama is the 44th President of the United States.

His story is the American story values from the heartland, a middle-class upbringing in a strong family, hard work and education as the means of getting ahead, and the conviction that a life so blessed should be lived in service to others.

With a father from Kenya and a mother from Kansas, President Obama was born in Hawaii on August 4, 1961. He was raised with help from his grandfather, who served in Patton's army, and his grandmother, who worked her way up from the secretarial pool to middle management at a bank.

After working his way through college with the help of scholarships and student loans, President Obama moved to Chicago, where he worked with a group of churches to help rebuild communities devastated by the closure of local steel plants.

He went on to attend law school, where he became the first African-American president of the Harvard Law Review. Upon graduation, he returned to Chicago to help lead a voter registration drive, teach constitutional law at the University of Chicago, and remain active in his community.

President Obama's years of public service are based around his unwavering belief in the ability to unite people around a politics of purpose. In the Illinois State Senate, he passed the first major ethics reform in 25 years, cut taxes for working families, and expanded health care for children and their parents. As a United States Senator, he reached across the aisle to pass groundbreaking lobbying reform, lock up the world's most dangerous weapons, and bring transparency to government by putting federal spending online.

He was elected the 44th President of the United States on November 4, 2008, and sworn in on January 20, 2009. He and his wife, Michelle, are the proud parents of two daughters, Malia and Sasha.

Learn more about President Obama's spouse, First Lady Michelle Obama.

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President Barack Obama | whitehouse.gov

His visit Thursday to El Reno Federal Correctional Institution in Oklahoma reflects a President who is willing to take unprecedented steps to highlight the issues he cares about -- in this case, criminal justice reform -- during his final years in office.

Like he said during an impromptu jaunt to Starbucks last summer, it's clear that once again "the bear is loose" -- a sign that Obama is relishing the fourth quarter of his presidency that has allowed him to be less cautious and instead more freewheeling and authentic. That demeanor that has been on display multiple times in the last month, from singing "Amazing Grace" at the Charleston funeral to his decision to use the N-word during a podcast interview.

During a White house press conference on Wednesday, Obama took his critics head on, addressing criticism after criticism leveled against the Iran deal he signed off on this week, rejecting each attack on what will very likely be the capstone to his foreign policy legacy.

"I just want to make sure that we're not leaving any stones unturned here," Obama said Wednesday as he invited more questions on the Iran deal. "I really am enjoying this Iran debate."

On Wednesday he pointed out his press secretary was likely "getting a little stressed here" as he went on taking questions.

RELATED: Albright on 'historic' Iran deal: Read it

The Iran deal is the latest opportunity Obama has had to lay into his critics and make an ardent pitch on an issue he is fiercely devoted to -- in ways he has also done on race issues, gun control and even the fight against ISIS.

"You know what, I will take a question," Obama said after remarks on the latter topic, before taking two questions.

The deal now in Obama's hands is the result of a nearly two-year negotiations haul and an effort to engage Iran that has spanned his entire presidency -- and he can finally play it up in definite terms. And though the deal faces stiff opposition from Republicans -- and some Democrats -- in Congress, it's unlikely lawmakers will be able to muster the veto-proof majority needed to derail the multinational agreement.

In the process, he even laid into a veteran White House reporter who asked why he was "content with all the fanfare around this deal" given that four Americans still languish in Iranian prisons.

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Looser Barack Obama on display - CNNPolitics.com