The Note: Obama out swinging as Democrats unite amid crisis

The TAKE with Rick Klein

For a guy accused of being nowhere, former Vice President Joe Biden has got a whole lot going in his favor at the moment.

Former President Barack Obama’s endorsement came 24 hours after Sen. Bernie Sanders made a similar move. It underscores an important point: The Democratic Party is unusually united going into the general election, well ahead of the expected schedule.

While Obama sang the virtues of his longtime loyal lieutenant, he is also signaling a broader argument against President Donald Trump and Senate Republicans, whom he said are motivated by “power” rather than “progress.”

“We need Americans of goodwill to unite in a great awakening against a politics that too often has been characterized by corruption, carelessness, self-dealing, disinformation, ignorance and just plain meanness,” Obama said.

That’s a broad indictment of the Trump era. But it’s also specific to this moment. Democrats aren’t fearing a “Trump bump” in polling or economic figures, and instead see the COVID-19 crisis as exposing the president and his policies in ways voters will understand.

Democrats are riding high from a statewide upset in Wisconsin. Well-funded super PACs are spending widely on Biden’s behalf, using different news clips than the ones Trump is highlighting to send a very different message about him.

It serves as a reminder that while Trump can dominate news cycles, he can’t dictate the atmospherics that are likely to influence his reelection.

Obama’s then-chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, used what would become an infamous line back in the early days of the Obama presidency, “Never allow a good crisis go to waste.”

The politics of this crisis will not and should not be either party’s focus for a while. But what happens in the midst of these extraordinary times is already starting to matter.

The RUNDOWN with MaryAlice Parks

Trump let out a little slack Tuesday in the ongoing and persistent game of tug of war between his White House and state governors.

Just 24 hours after insisting he has "total" authority to set the terms of reopening the country, he backed off that claim, which lacked any serious constitutional basis. He said instead, "We don't want to put pressure on anybody. I'm not going to put any pressure on any governor to open."

His answer Tuesday sounded much more in line with what he had been saying for weeks -- that ultimately, in his view, governors were in charge of the specifics. Trump has always been more comfortable with accountability elsewhere.

"The governors are responsible. They have to take charge," he added. "We're going to suggest they check people through tests or otherwise coming into their states, and they run their states very strong."

Trump did provide an extensive list of American businesses and industry representatives who will be advising his team on ideas for reopening the economy on a federal level, though the president's other recent working groups, albeit less formal, have struggled to show follow-through or deliverables.

The TIP with Sasha Pezenik

Sanders’ decision to endorse Biden on Monday marked further support in what’s been a continued coalescing of both party moderates and, now, a key player of the progressive wing just days after suspending his own campaign.

But we still await Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who exited the race in early March and has yet to endorse, saying she wanted to “take a little time” to think. A source close to Warren’s former presidential campaign told ABC News in recent weeks that her endorsement had to be earned and her progressive mantle carried forth, but that she would support the eventual nominee. Biden worked to make those overtures, taking up several of her policy proposals in notable shifts to the left.

Now, as the once-crowded Democratic field lines up behind Biden -- with two important voices joining the call for the former vice president in a week of well-orchestrated party unity -- Warren's voice may become conspicuous by its absence, while her endorsement would steer clear of any optic that she's splitting the progressive wing.

So, what’s the holdup? It may not be that she’s holding out, those familiar with the situation have told ABC News, adding that they expect her endorsement of Biden imminently and even as soon as this week.

ONE MORE THING

Former Vice President Joe Biden is currently hamstrung by the inability to interact one-on-one with voters at in-person events, but one question looms even larger over a campaign recast and upended by a deadly global pandemic and a growing economic crisis: who will he pick as his running mate?

THE PLAYLIST

ABC News' "Start Here" Podcast. Wednesday morning’s episode features ABC News Chief Business and Economics correspondent Rebecca Jarvis, who lays out how reopening plans are impacting the job market. ABC News Senior Investigative Matthew Mosk takes us inside a Richmond, Virginia, nursing home hit especially hard by the novel coronavirus. Then, we check in with ABC News’ Karson Yiu in China, as the country begins easing restrictions with the help of technology. http://apple.co/2HPocUL

ABC News' "Powerhouse Politics" Podcast. ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Jonathan Karl and Political Director Rick Klein interview Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy on how states are handling the COVID-19 response. http://apple.co/2vje5Oc

FiveThirtyEight Politics Podcast. Now that Democrats have settled on a presumptive nominee, the FiveThirtyEight Politics podcast team discusses their priors for the 2020 presidential contest. While seven months -- and an unfolding crisis -- separate us from Election Day, the 2020 race appears to have similar patterns to 2016’s -- for now. The crew also looks at where we are in the COVID-19 crisis and how the debate over when to reopen the economy is playing out. https://apple.co/23r5y7w

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The Note is a daily ABC News feature that highlights the day's top stories in politics. Please check back tomorrow for the latest.