WASHINGTON — Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu was happy to hop a lift aboard Air Force One Friday — but she wasn’t ready to hang out in her home state with President Obama while ObamaCare is riling her constituents.
Landrieu, a Democrat who faces a tough re-election battle next year, cast a key vote for the national health plan when it passed the Senate in Obama’s first term.
But this week she distanced herself from the president by introducing legislation to grandfather insurance plans that are now being canceled by the millions under the new system.
“Due to previously long-scheduled events in Lake Charles, the senator did not attend the event at the Port of New Orleans,” said Matthew Lehner, her press secretary.
Obama spoke at the Port of New Orleans to highlight infrastructure and the economy — but couldn’t help but comment on the problems swirling around ObamaCare and the flawed HealthCare.gov Web site.
“I wanted to go in and fix it myself, but I don’t write code,” the president said.
“We’ve had this problem with the Web site,” he continued. “I’m not happy about that, but we’re working overtime to make sure it gets fixed. I promise.”
Asked whether Landrieu and Obama discussed ObamaCare on the flight, Landrieu’s press secretary dodged the question and said they talked about flood insurance.
In his remarks, Obama thanked the officials in attendance, including Landrieu’s brother, Mitch, who is the mayor of New Orleans.
The president also praised the senator herself, explaining: “She’s traveling around the state today and doing unbelievable work on behalf of the people of Louisiana.”
Longtime observers of Louisiana politics said Landrieu was playing it smart steering as clear of Obama as possible.
“I think any image of her with him would be used by [Landrieu’s opponent Bill Cassidy] over and over and over again,” Kirby Goidel of Louisiana State University told The Times-Picayune.
“If I were on the Cassidy team, I would try to turn her into Barack Obama.”
One lawmaker not afraid to appear with Obama was Harlem Rep. Charles Rangel.
A new book about the 2012 presidential campaign, “Double Down,” reports that Obama told aides that Rangel should have retired years ago.
Obama noted that Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-La.), brought down “a whole bunch of his colleagues from the Congressional Black Caucus for some important work that they’re doing” in New Orleans.
Then he quipped sarcastically: “Not that they’re going to enjoy themselves at all while they’re here!”
The same book said Obama had little regard for most members of the caucus.
With Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal in the audience, Obama pleaded for the state to expand health-insurance coverage for poor Louisianans under Medicaid.
“And here in Louisiana, that would benefit about 265,000 people.” He noted that GOP governors in Ohio, Nevada, and Arizona are “doing it, too.”
Obama made the trip south just a day after apologizing to the millions of people getting notices that they may lose their current insurance coverage.
“I am sorry that they, you know, are finding themselves in this situation, based on assurances they got from me,” Obama told NBC News Thursday night.
It was a notable admission from a White House that has been battered by problems with the Web site and by complaints that insurance companies are dumping policies by the truckload that don’t meet ObamaCare standards.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters Obama is “determined” to address some of the challenges from the law, and has asked aides to look into it.