PHILADELPHIA — The White House showed Monday how heavily President Obama is depending on Sen. Bernard Sanders — a socialist who isn’t even a member of the Democratic Party — to hold Democrats together as they prepare to nominate Hillary Clinton.
Referring to the furor over emails showing that the Democratic National Committee tried to undermine Mr. Sanders’ campaign, White House press secretary Josh Earnest said the Vermont independent senator’s support for Mrs. Clinton “hasn’t changed.”
“Senator Sanders himself has indicated, that even in light of all this news and some of these e-mails, that the support for Secretary Clinton hasn’t changed,” Mr. Earnest said. “In some ways, when it comes to the view of the DNC whether they were fair to Senator Sanders, the person’s who opinion matters most, it’s not mine, it’s Senator Sanders.”
Sanders’ supporters are so angry about the revelations that the furor forced DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz to resign Sunday.
“There are going to be people with intense passions with a variety of points of view,” Mr. Earnest said, adding that the president believes Ms. Wasserman Schultz has done “an excellent job.”
Desperately seeking signs of Democratic Party unity, the White House said even angry supporters of Mr. Sanders will show that all Democrats love first lady Michelle Obama when she addresses the convention Monday night.
“Everybody in the crowd is going to be on their feet applauding,” Mr. Earnest said. “That’s one indication of the condition of the Democratic Party.”
Many Sanders’ supporters also are unhappy with presumptive nominee Hillary Clinton’s choice of Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia as her running mate.
Nevertheless, Mr. Earnest said Democrats are unified behind “the kinds of values and priorities that have guided this president and this administration.”
Mr. Obama spoke by phone with Ms. Wasserman Schultz on Sunday after it became clear she needed to resign, Mr. Earnest said.
“This is a job that’s really hard and is subject to a lot of intense criticism,” Mr. Earnest said. “Given all that, the president thought it was appropriate to give her a call yesterday.”
At the helm of the DNC for five years, Ms. Wasserman Schultz helped Mr. Obama to win reelection in 2012. The president expressed appreciation for her work but said Mrs. Clinton should have the right to determine who will lead the DNC this fall.
“The party benefits when the party’s nominee and the apparatus of the DNC are effectively integrated,” Mr. Earnest said. “That’s why it makes sense to him that the person at the top of the ticket should get to decide. That’s something that was clear to Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz and to the Clinton campaign.”
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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