Obama wants you to know he also didn't like Clinton once

Hillary Clinton has a likeability problem: In May, over half the voting population — 55 percent — viewed her negatively. Now her former opponent is stepping up to the plate to say, "Hey, I too once disliked Clinton, and this is why she won me over."

President Obama has clearly been itching to get on the campaign trail in support of Clinton, whom he beat in the 2008 Democratic primary. Still, concerned by how much of Clinton's base comes from people simply voting for who they perceive to be the lesser of two evils, Politico writes that Obama's goal going forward is to "[remind] voters there was a time he didn't like her so much, but he came around — and they should too."

"[Obama] can make the case as the highest profile convert to be her supporter," White House communications director Jen Psaki said.

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While Obama evidentially harbors no concerns about discrediting a Trump presidency, the White House wants to at the very least energize Clinton's backers beyond a "not Trump" vote in November. "You want people to feel as passionate about Hillary Clinton being president as they do about stopping Donald Trump. If this isn't a close race, it's still going to matter a great deal for her presidency," Obama's 2008 campaign manager David Plouffe said.