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ALBANY — Democrat David Weprin is trying to have it both ways when it comes to President Obama, his opponent charged yesterday.
While distancing himself publicly from Obama, congressional hopeful Weprin is taking behind-the-scenes help from the struggling commander-in-chief’s political operation.
Jeremy Bird, the national field director for the president’s political arm, Obama for America, orchestrated a ground effort for Weprin in the 9th Congressional District yesterday including phone calls and door-knocking.
“The calls you make could be the ones that put him over the top,” Bird said in a mailer to Democrats.
“If we’re going to continue to build on this work and create jobs, we need strong allies like David in Congress. On the other hand, the Republican nominee supports making harmful changes to Medicare and Social Security, and has even put raising costs on the table. The choice couldn’t be clearer.”
But Republican Turner’s campaign called the operation “an effort to avoid a humiliating defeat for the Obama agenda in the special election.”
Weprin on Thursday told The Post: “I’ve never met President Obama. [Turner] is running against me.”
And Weprin told the Jewish Press, “I will probably not refuse to endorse [Obama] because I think I will be more effective by supporting him, but at the same time being very strongly against him on some of his policies.”
Turner’s spokesman responded, “Mr. Weprin is walking away from the president in public while Mr. Obama’s ground troops are flooding the district.”
“He’s trying to fool voters and have it both ways. His duplicity is breathtaking.”
Earier, Weprin sent a mailer to voters that focused on endorsements by state Democrats — but Obama was MIA.
Democrats outnumber Republicans three to one in the district, but an independent Siena College poll last month found Turner within six points of Weprin.
Turner has characterized state Assemblyman and former City Council member Weprin, a son of the late Assembly Speaker Saul Weprin, as a “career politician.”
And Turner is linking his rival to Obama, whose popularity in the district is sagging.
But Democrat Weprin may not need Obama’s help: A new Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee poll shows him eight points ahead of Turner — a day after a GOP poll had the Sept. 13 special-election race for Anthony Weiner’s Queens-Brooklyn House seat a dead heat.
The DCCC called its poll “more credible” because it used a larger sample and was conducted over two days, rather than one. But Turner spokesman William O’Reilly labeled the survey “highly suspect.”
For his part, Weprin has portrayed Turner as a threat to Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and a bill to ensure health-care reimbursement for Sept. 11 volunteers.
A new State Democratic Committee-financed mailer (pictured) portrays “Tea Party” Turner in a captain’s hat and accuses him of supporting “tax breaks for companies that ship American jobs overseas” by “recently” signing an Americans for Tax Reform pledge swearing “to protect tax loopholes for companies that outsource American jobs.”
O’Reilly said Turner has signed no pledges in this race or last year, when he was running against Weiner.
Turner signed an ATR pledge opposing any increase in income tax rates for individuals and business.
“Last time I checked, pledges don’t have a shelf life,” said Weprin spokeswoman Liz Kerr.