Earlier today, Jason Tolbert tweeted:
Pres. Obama will be in Missouri today to raise money for Carnahan for Senate http://bit.ly/bqN3Oq Will he come to Arkansas for Sen. Lincoln?
Well, while we don’t know if President Obama will, it seems that — maybe — Sen. Lincoln would not turn down such an offer.
Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) and Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway’s campaigns offered qualified answers when asked whether they would welcome Obama, and Rep. Charlie Melancon’s (D-La.) campaign did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
“President Obama did not campaign in Arkansas during his own race in 2008,” reminded Lincoln spokeswoman Katie Laning Niebaum, “but Sen. Lincoln has let him know that he is always welcome in Arkansas.”
It’s actually more that I expected from her camp, but I would note that there’s a difference between “he is always welcome in Arkansas” and “I would welcome campaign support from him.” My guess is that both sides have already made it clear that his help is not needed and that he isn’t interested in giving it anyway. I’m just spitballing, though.
As an aside, I suppose it is nice of the Senator to tell the President of the United States that he could come to Arkansas. I’m sure he was waiting for her approval on that.