Source: Obama believed his experience battling for 2008 nomination made him

[pnwmom]

a better candidate and President.

So Obama doesn't think our candidates are better off by only highlighting the "positives," as many say they prefer.

http://fortune.com/2019/04/25/joe-biden-2020-campaign/

Obama’s endorsement would have been a boost for Biden, whose candidacy draws on the warm feelings that many Democrats have for the eight years the pair spent in the White House. It would also have been seen as an effort by Obama to clear out a crowded primary field that also includes one of his former cabinet secretaries – without giving voters a chance to decide for themselves at the polls.

A source familiar with Obama’s thinking said that he’s not planning to endorse anyone during the early stages of the primary process, in part because he believes that his experience battling for the 2008 nomination made him a better candidate and president.

[Thekaspervote]

1. Imagine the hard feelings it would cause for the other candidates

He’s doing the right thing

[pnwmom]

2. Especially the one who was his Cabinet Secretary for 8 years. n/t

[boomer_wv]

3. re

It would be totally inappropriate for Obama to weigh in on the primary, in my opinion. It would be even worse in the event that he pick someone who doesn't win, because then it's a very embarrassing thing that will carry on throughout the campaign. Better to wait until there is a clear pick already.

There's no reason to use kid gloves in the primary, you need to fight it out and expose any weaknesses before we get to the general so that we can move away from them or deal with them.

Biden is my first choice right now, but the other candidates should hit him as much as they can. It will either help him become a stronger candidate or beat him before the general where it would have been exposed anyway.