Six States
In a memo outlining requests to Obama political aide David Simas late this summer, the Clinton campaign asked the president to concentrate on six states -- Ohio, Florida, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Iowa and New Hampshire -- said a White House aide who has seen the memo. The White House is planning an itinerary along those lines but is attempting to preserve as much flexibility as possible within the logistical constraints of presidential travel to accommodate adjustments as the campaign unfolds, the aide said.
Michelle Obama, who campaigned for Clinton last week in Virginia, also plans an active schedule on behalf of the Democratic nominee for the remainder of the season, said Caroline Adler Morales, the first ladys communications director.
The unusual level of Obamas engagement in the campaign reflects a unique confluence of circumstances in the post-World War II era. His relatively strong public approval rating -- 52 percent in Gallup polling Sept. 12-17 and reaching the high 50s in some other recent surveys -- is better than all but three predecessors at this stage of their presidencies: Dwight Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton.
