Obama weighs in on the race between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders
President Obama said in an interview released Monday that Sen. Bernie Sanders' rising popularity in the 2016 Democratic race is not the same as his own rise in the 2008 presidential race.
In a 40-minute interview with Politico's Off-Message podcast, the president weighed in on the battle between Hillary Clinton, his rival for the 2008 Democratic nomination, and Sanders, a Vermont independent.
Asked if Sanders reminds him of himself in 2008, Mr. Obama said, "I don't think that's true."
The president praised Clinton during the interview, but acknowledged that she didn't benefit from being the perceived frontrunner in the Democratic race early on.
"Bernie came in with the luxury of being a complete long shot and just letting loose. I think Hillary came in with the both privilege -- and burden -- of being perceived as the frontrunner," he said. "You're always looking at the bright, shiny object that people haven't seen before. That's a disadvantage to her."
At the same time, Mr. Obama suggested that Sanders' decision to mainly focus on one issue, income inequality, might not help him in the long-run.
"[The] one thing everybody understands is that this job right here, you don't have the luxury of just focusing on one thing," said the president. He said he didn't want to "play political consultant" but noted that candidates have to face a series of hurdles.
Mr. Obama said he has spoken to both candidates, but isn't getting too involved.
"I have not been trying to kibitz and stick my nose into every aspect of their strategy," he said.
During the interview, the president also expressed regret for his 2008 campaign's tactics when he faced Clinton.
"The truth is, in 2007 and 2008, sometimes my supporters and my staff, I think, got too huffy about what were legitimate questions she was raising," he said. "And there were times where I think the media probably was a little unfair to her and tilted a little my way in calling her out."
Clinton, Sanders and former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley will participate in a town hall debate on CNN Monday night, just a week before voting kicks off at the Iowa caucuses.