BUT THERE'S SO MUCH ELSE TO DO – AT 8:38 A.M. ET:  Well, politically, this president may have a pretty good instinct for cutting his losses...and he faces losses.

While he's endorsed some Dem candidates in today's races, his physical absence has been noted.  From Fox News:

The political fate of two vulnerable Senate Democrats and the race for a House seat vital to any plausible Republican plan to knock Speaker Nancy Pelosi out of power are topics that, the White House claimed Monday, are barely raising an eyebrow in the administration.

The question came up in the daily White House news briefing on the day before three key state primaries.

"How closely has the president been following the campaigns?" a reporter asked Press Secretary Robert Gibbs.

"Not that closely," Gibbs said.

Gibbs' claim of West Wing disinterest comes after Obama endorsed party-switching Democratic Sen. Arlen Specter in Pennsylvania and dispatched Vice President Biden to campaign for him. And it comes after Obama had his White House team say complimentary things about Arkansas Sen. Blanche Lincoln's bid to have big banks shed derivatives trading despite opposition from Obama's treasury secretary and his leading outside economic adviser.

What Obama hasn't done for Specter and Lincoln is campaign for them down the stretch.

COMMENT:  Under the bus they go, joining a whole platoon of former Obama friends, allies, even grandma.  It must be a great party under there, ordering out for pizza, Chinese food, the whole thing.  There's still room, and others will be invited.

May 18, 2010