Obama Downplays His Role in 2016: Voters Want ‘That New Car Smell’

President Obama doesn’t expect to be heavily involved in the 2016 presidential election because voters will be looking for “that new car smell,” he told George Stephanopoulos on ABC News’ “This Week.”

“You know, they want to drive something off the lot that doesn’t have as much mileage as me,” said Obama.

The president said the best way for him to serve the American people and a “potential successor” is to spend the next two years “making this government work a little bit better for ordinary folks.”

The president said that at the end of his term, he’d be happy to do “selective things” for candidates, “but I suspect that folks will be ready to see me go off to the next thing.”

“You know, they’re—they’re probably not going to be looking at me to campaign too much. … One of the things about our society, which is great, is that we don’t have real long memories. And, you know, we get—we get impatient for the next thing.”