Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) said former President Obama is partially to blame for the Democrats’ poor showing at the polls in 2016.

Ellison, now the deputy chairman of the Democratic National Committee, blamed Obama for ignoring party politics while he was in office, which he said had put the president’s legacy at risk.

“Look I’m a great fan of President Obama. I totally voted for many of the things he supported — Dodd Frank, Affordable Care Act, Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act — I could keep going,” Ellison said at an event Wednesday at the University of Minnesota.

“Wonderful achievements. But Barack Obama could have been a better party leader, and I think the fact that he wasn’t put his legacy in jeopardy,” he said.

Former President Barack Obama has agreed to speak at a Wall Street conference for $400,000, according to a new report.

Obama will appear at Cantor Fitzgerald LP’s healthcare conference in September, Fox Business Network first reported Monday.

Fox Business said it confirmed Obama’s appearance with senior people at Cantor, a financial services firm.

When he was president he called them “fat cats,” but now he’s likely thanking them for a huge payday.

Former President Barack Obama, less than 100 days out of office, has agreed to speak at a Wall Street conference run by Cantor Fitzgerald LP, senior people at the firm confirm to FOX Business. His speaking fee will be $400,000, which is nearly twice as much as Hillary Clinton, his secretary of state, and the 2016 Democratic Party candidate, charged private businesses for such events.

The marchers flooded into Washington, D.C. publicly backed by mainstream figures in the Democratic Party and progressive movement, too ― like Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, and yes, Hillary Clinton. But if you're wondering whether Hillary Clinton is at the March for Science, the answer appears to be no.

As it stands now, Clinton hasn't made an appearance at the march. This wouldn't be the first time she, nor most politicians, publicly backed a cause that they didn't personally attend ― she also skipped the Women's March on Washington, despite being publicly supportive of it. In short, she seems to have opted for a promote-from-afar approach.

Clinton attended the festival as an unannounced panelist at the premiere of “The Protectors: Walk in the Rangers’ Shoes,” a virtual reality documentary about elephant poaching that was co-created by Oscar-winning director Kathryn Bigelow.

The centrist Emmanuel Macron will face far-right leader Marine Le Pen in a run-off for the French presidency on 7 May, multiple projections indicate.
Mr Macron leads with 23.7% in first round voting while Ms Le Pen won 21.7%, an Ipsos/Sopra Steria poll suggests.
Opinion polls in the run-up to the ballot consistently saw Mr Macron defeating his rival in the final round.
The two saw off a strong challenge from centre-right François Fillon and hard-left Jean-Luc Mélenchon.

...Whoever wins the next round, the voting marks a shift away from the leftist and centre-right parties that have long dominated French politics.