Save the senators tour

President Barack Obama heads west this week to campaign for a pair of incumbent Democratic senators — Majority Leader Harry Reid in Nevada and Michael Bennet in Colorado. But it’s even money on whether Obama’s appearance  will help or hurt them. Reid is polling in the low 40s and loses hypothetical matchups with just about any Republican opponent.  Bennet, appointed to his seat when Ken Salazar was named Obama’s Interior secretary, also is trailing. Bringing in Obama is a roll of the dice. “It’s definitely a gamble,” Democratic strategist Liz Chadderdon tells The Washington Times. “A handshake that raises $1 million now could cost them the election later.” Indeed, The Times reports another embattled Dem, Sen. Blanche Lincoln in Arkansas, is trying to save her job by creating daylight between herself and liberal Democrats, if not the president himself. Lincoln’s campaign Web site highlights a recent exchange in which she challenged Obama to push back against liberal extremes in the party. No word on whether Obama will do Little Rock later this year, but don’t hold your breath. One conservative pundit already has dubbed the campaigner-in-chief Barack ” Millstone” Obama.

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