“I asked her when I last saw her and she seemed emphatic that she was not going to do it. I doubt if she does it,” Sharpton said, adding that he began praying she would change her mind after the recent encounter.

Still, none of that hasn’t gotten in the way of Democrats dreaming of a restoration of sorts. While discussing Biden’s potential veep picks, Michigan Democratic Party Chair Lavora Barnes recently told a reporter she didn’t want to name a preference. But when asked about Michelle Obama, she stopped for a beat.

“Oh my God,” she said, almost gasping. “That would be amazing.”

The idea of an Biden-Obama ticket is as much rooted in warm fuzzy nostalgia for the last Democratic administration as it is a product of the cold, hard data of polling.