The President is coming to Wisconsin for the third time this summer.
President Barack Obama will be in Milwaukee on Labor Day. Republican Party of Wisconsin Chairman Reince Priebus says in a statement that this visit is indicative of just how desperate the Democrats are about their chances of winning in November.
Mordecai Lee, Political Science Professor at UW Milwaukee, disagrees. “I think it’s fair to say that all politicians are pretty cold blooded and pretty pragmatic, and that when you’re president you don’t want to lose a day of campaigning … campaigning for somebody who’s for sure going to lose the election or for sure going to win the election. That’s simply not a rational allocation of time.”
Lee says, while it is important for Obama to get U.S. Senator Russ Feingold reelected and get Tom Barrett into the governor’s office, Obama’s visit doesn’t necessarily mean that the Democrats are in trouble. “So I think it’s fair to interpret his visit as saying that he thinks the U.S. Senate race and the governor’s race are in play, that there’s a chance for democrats to win, there’s a chance for Republicans to win, and he wants to do whatever he can to help his party win.”
The President was in Wisconsin just a couple of weeks ago attending fundraisers for Barrett and the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. Monday’s visit will be Obama’s fifth trip to the state since he was elected. Obama will speak on the economy at the annual Laborfest put on by the Milwaukee Area Labor Council.
AUDIO: Jackie Johnson report 1:30
Also, the professor says we Wisconsinites like to think we’re important, and by returning to our state, the President is saying we are, in fact, important. Lee says, the national media is looking for a good Labor Day political story.
Mordecai Lee :21
