Back in 2006, Democrats were happy to have Hillary Clinton on the trail with them, but freshman Senator Barack Obama was the real hot ticket as a Democratic surrogate. … The top surrogate for Republicans that year wasn’t Pres. George W. Bush, whose approval ratings were deep underwater, but Sen. John McCain, the maverick who lost to Bush in the 2000 campaign. …
Fast forward to 2016, and the President is again politically toxic. This time, it’s Democrats who are running as fast as they can from the titular head of their party. On the Republican side, Bush-era Republicans don’t generate much enthusiasm from the GOP base. In fact, it’s telling that two of the most popular surrogates on the campaign trail–Sen. Elizabeth Warren for the Democrats and Sen. Rand Paul for the Republicans–are both newbies to the national political scene. While they disagree on a whole lot of issues, they represent a similar yearning for a more populist, less regal (established) voice by both parties. CONT.
Amy Walter, Cook Political Report