By PHILIP ELLIOTT
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON – Just a year after celebrating Barack Obama’s inauguration, despondent Democrats on Saturday heard from their party leader who urged optimism in the face of Republicans’ strong challenge to their congressional dominance.
At its winter meeting, a defiant Democratic Party worked to project a message of strength even as loyalists acknowledged the prospect of several defeats in November. The party that controls the White House typically loses seats during midterm elections at an average rate of 28 net House seats. President Bill Clinton, the last Democratic commander in chief, lost control of Congress in his first term and Democrats privately are predicting it could happen again.
Obama, looking to write his own history, warned fellow Democrats that “we have to acknowledge that change can’t come quickly enough.” He said political leaders must plot their way forward to November with an understanding of the economic difficulties Americans face.