Race for the White House
Obama Insiders Say Clinton, Not Sanders, Is His Natural Heir
Former staffers to the president weigh in on which candidate's campaign better resembles Obama's in 2008.
President Barack Obama is seen in an armored vehicle while arriving at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Jan. 25, 2016, in Bethesda, Maryland.
Photographer: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
When President Barack Obama was asked by Politico this week whether Bernie Sanders' populist campaign reminded him of his own 2008 run, the president quickly rejected the notion. “No,” Obama responded. “I don't think that's true.”
While Obama didn't elaborate, former top aides weren't reticent to say they view Hillary Clinton—not the insurgent Vermont senator whose rhetoric has drawn comparisons to Obama—as the natural heir to the president.