Richard Carmona Was Noticeably Absent From Obama’s Visit 

Yesterday, President Barack Obama visited Chandler, Arizona but one person who skipped the event was Democrat Senate candidate Richard Carmona who the President personally recruited to run.

While the liberal kingmakers in Washington tried for months to get Carmona to challenge former Democrat party boss Don Bivens for the nomination, they were ultimately unsuccessful.  That’s when the Campaigner-in-Chief got involved and personally encouraged Carmona to jump into the race, while Obama campaign officials claimed a Carmona candidacy would help them make Arizona competitive for the President.

It seems, however, that with the President’s poll numbers mired at just 41 percent approval in Arizona, Carmona wasn’t ready to return the favor.

“It speaks volumes about President Obama’s standing among Arizonans that even his hand-picked Senate candidate Richard Carmona wasn’t willing to stand at his side,” said National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) spokesman Jahan Wilcox.  “No matter how hard Carmona tries to duck though, at some point he will need to step forward and explain to Arizonans why President Obama was so committed to getting him into this race.  Clearly, President Obama saw a reliable vote for his big government, spending agenda in a Richard Carmona Senate candidacy.”    

As Politico first reported:

“On September 23, President Obama called Richard Carmona to encourage him to run,” said one Democratic strategist. “The president said Carmona would certainly shake up the race. Carmona emphasized in the conversation that he would be a very independent voice in the Senate.” (Alex Burns, Obama courts Arizona Senate candidate, may contest state ‘heavily,’ Politico, 10/06/11)