Where’s Obama?

I shot an arrow into the air,
It fell to earth, I know not where.

Longfellow (1807-1882), The Arrow and the Song

So all who hide too well away
Must speak and tell us where they are.

Robert Frost(1874-1963) Revelation

With his approval rating at an all-time low of 40%, President Obama is hard to find on the campaign trail.

Vulnerable Democratic candidates do not ask him to speak or appear at their events for fear of losing their tight races. Alison Grimes, Democrat running against Mitch McConnell for Senator in Kentucky, even refuses to say whether she voted for Obama, while other Democrats avoid the subject of Obama altogether.

Where will you find Obama?

The answer is three fold.

One, at fundraisers for the Democratic Party. He has appeared at more than 400 fundraisers during his presidency, and this year been at 58 fundraising events.

Two, where the rich capitalists and the wealthy celebrities reside. These people, sometimes labeled “crony capitalists,” generally live in New York City and environs, California, or in metropolitan areas with high profile academic centers.

Three, where the influential women are. Women favor Democrats, and in health care , where they make 80% of health care decisions for families,

These factors were in evidence this week at the Los Angeles home of actress Gwyneth Paltrow, who swooned when introducing the President, saying she could hardly speak because he was “so handsome.”

And indeed handsome and attractive he is – to women - but not to men and Republicans. Democrats have spent as much as 60% of their $120 million in midterm TV advertising to the “war on women,” focusing on abortion, women’s health, contraceptive coverage, and equal pay for equal jobs.

By throwing $70 million dollars at the women issue, Democrats hope to survive, even thrive, after the midterms. Republicans lose single women by as much as 20 points, black women by 85 points, Hispanic women by 57 points. Times, however, may be changing. A George Washington University poll has Republicans winning married women by 16 points, white married women by 23%, and losing single women by only 2 percentage points.

As for men, polls in Kentucky , Colorado and Alaska have Republicans winning men by 11 to 19 points. Men judge Obama more harshly on the economy, health care, and foreign affairs (Kimberly Strassel, “American is ‘War on Women” Weary,” WSJ, October 10, 2014).

The Democratic and Obama agenda makes sense when you consider the fact that there are more women than men, money wins elections, and Obama knows where to go where the money is.