President Obama hasn't spent that much time on the campaign trail this election season. But that's not because he doesn't like it -- indeed, he does.
Speaking at an event in Maine for the Democratic candidate for governor, Mike Michaud, he talked longingly of his time on the trail. "I'm not on the ballot this time and this is the last election cycle in which I'm involved as President. And I know the hardest -- look, it makes you a little wistful. You kind of," said Obama to laughter, "because I do like campaigning. It’s fun. And I know as I reflect back on the thing that I love so much about campaigning is that it reminds me about the American people. Because you get to meet everybody, of all walks of life. You get to meet young moms who are just valiantly working on behalf of making sure their kids have a better life. You get to meet business owners who take pride in making something here in America and providing their workers a decent wage, and showing what’s possible for some young worker who comes in and can move up the ranks. You have a chance to meet veterans who just render extraordinary service to our country and then come back and suddenly are critical parts of their community and -- giving back as first responders or Little League coaches."
Obama cotinued: "You just meet people from all walks of life and it makes you so optimistic about the American people, how decent they are, how good they are, how hardworking they are, how resilient they are. And sometimes it seems as if our political process doesn’t reflect that, and it’s not what we see on television, it’s not what we read in the newspapers. And that’s part of what makes it so hard to change the status quo."
No, the reason Obama hasn't been campaigning so much these days is because he's not wanted by many of the candidates on the ballot.