OUR VIEW: Obama butts in on Colorado politics (vote in poll)

President Barack Obama is coming to Colorado Feb. 18, which could help former Colorado Speaker of the House Andrew Romanoff defeat U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet in the upcoming Colorado Democratic primary.

President Obama, with all due respect, you should butt out of this race.

Obama will swing through Denver to support Bennet, whom he has already endorsed, and it’s hard to imagine why Bennet or Obama think this might be helpful. The visit is almost certain to backfire.

President Obama is a likeable man, and he will remain likeable no matter what happens to his approval ratings. But Coloradans, Democrats and Republicans alike, are already skeptical of Gov. Bill Ritter’s decision to foist upon them a senator with no political background who was almost completely unknown to the vast majority of people here.

As much as Coloradans may personally like President Obama, a majority here, and nationwide, don’t like his vision of health care reform. Bennet not only supports the president’s health care vision, but he told Coloradans he was willing to lose his Senate seat in order to support an unpopular health care bill. That means Bennet has gone on record telling voters he doesn’t really care what they want.

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Coloradans may know and like Obama, but they also know and like Romanoff. They probably don’t appreciate a president who knows little about Romanoff or Bennet taking such an early and vociferous position in a race that’s entirely up to Colorado voters.

If President Obama really wants to see Bennet win in Colorado, he’ll have a change in travel plans Feb. 18. — Wayne Laugesen, editorial page editor, for the editorial board

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