Obama, the ‘hopey-changey guy,’ tries to close the deal for Harris

Exactly 16 years ago, an impossibly young-looking Barack Obama was barnstorming through Ohio on a bus tour, electrifying huge crowds and emphatically closing the deal on his thumping 2008 election victory.

On another October night on Thursday, the 63-year-old ex-president was back on stage, with a vast American flag for a backdrop, trying to do for Kamala Harris what she’s so far struggled to do herself — put away the 2024 election.