Bernie Sanders and Barack Obama: It's Complicated

When it comes to talking about President Barack Obama, it's complicated for Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders. With the second Democratic debate scheduled for Saturday—the first one free of the specter of Vice President Joe Biden joining the fray—how Sanders portrays himself in relation to the president weighs heavily in his race against another Obama administration figure, Hillary Clinton.

“I have always believed that there is an inherent tension between Bernie Sanders's critique of the Democratic Party leadership and dependence on voters that chose Obama over Clinton to beat her,” former Obama White House senior adviser Dan Pfeiffer told Bloomberg. “Bernie Sanders has been a strong supporter of the president, but his implicit and sometimes explicit critique of the president is a problem as he courts the president’s supporters. It’s ironic given the bitter primary battle of ’08, but right now Clinton has a stronger claim to the president’s most loyal supporters.”