THE TELEGRAPH: Barack Obama has offered to stay away from the campaign trail for the US mid-term elections amid a growing realisation that he may be a liability for the Democrats.
The president is understood to have told senior Democrats during a private meeting at the White House that they “may not want me” to campaign in their areas during the next three months.
During a visit by Mr Obama to Atlanta, Georgia, on Monday, the Democrat candidate for governor was “not available” to meet the president and campaigned elsewhere in the state. The situation highlights the dramatic slump in Mr Obama’s fortunes.
For the past two elections, he has been the Democrat’s main asset with other candidates desperate for him to campaign in their areas.
However, his approval ratings are now below 50 per cent and a growing number of Americans are dissatisfied with his handling of the economy.
The Republican party - expected to win a majority in the US Congress this year - are attempting to turn the mid-term election in to a referendum on Mr Obama.
Over the weekend, Mr Obama addressed his declining popularity in an interview, saying that his fortunes would not improve until unemployment began to fall. He said that an assessment of his success was currently “incomplete”. >>> Robert Winnett in Washington | Monday, August 02, 2010
