Delaware Liberal

[W]e shouldn't forget the final and most powerful advantage Clinton will have: President Obama. No sitting president in modern times has ever campaigned at full strength for his party's nominee. George W. Bush was persona non grata on the campaign trail by 2008. Bill Clinton was seen as damaged goods by Al Gore in 2000, who distanced himself from the Clinton name (despite the 42nd president's tremendous popularity at the time). Ronald Reagan was already elderly in 1988 and did not have a great relationship with George H.W. Bush. LBJ quit politics altogether in 1968. Eisenhower did campaign a bit for Nixon, but he was also old by 1960, and avoided much of the campaign. President Obama, by contrast, is still quite young (indeed, he is 14 years younger than Clinton herself), and by all accounts is eager to help Clinton, who represents the best chance of preserving his legacy. Any lingering sense that a soon-to-be former president should refrain from campaigning to preserve the dignity of the office is utterly dead. And as he finishes his presidency, Obama is more popular today than he has been since the bin Laden raid — part of an upward trend that shows no sign of slowing.

”In January, I joined 14 other state Attorneys General in urging the United States Supreme Court to invalidate provisions of a new Texas law that unduly burdened the rights of women to choose whether to have an otherwise legal abortion. I was pleased today to see that the Supreme Court – not just by a divided plurality decision, but by a clearly articulated majority decision – invalidated the Texas restrictions that were challenged. In so doing, the Court gave renewed confidence to those who believe in a woman’s right to choose that the Court would fairly and impartially apply its own precedents regarding state imposed restrictions of that right.”

The Supreme Court on Monday struck down parts of a restrictive Texas law that could have reduced the number of abortion clinics in the state to about 10 from what was once a high of roughly 40. One part of the law requires all clinics in the state to meet the standards for ambulatory surgical centers, including regulations concerning buildings, equipment and staffing. The other requires doctors performing abortions to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital. “We conclude,” Justice Breyer wrote, “that neither of these provisions offers medical benefits sufficient to justify the burdens upon access that each imposes. Each places a substantial obstacle in the path of women seeking a previability abortion, each constitutes an undue burden on abortion access, and each violates the Federal Constitution.”