Obama to Democrats: Stop sulking

President Obama says Democrats tend to be self-critical -- and that can be both a good thing and a bad thing.

"One of the strengths of Democrats is that we don't march lockstep," Obama told New Jersey Democratic donors last night. "We like to have internal arguments and we're very self-critical. We tend to look at the glass as half empty. And that makes us better."

"But," he added, "that's also a weakness, particularly four weeks before an election."

The high unemployment rate is giving the minority Republicans a political advantage in the Nov. 2 congressional elections, Obama said. But Democrats should not lose sight of the long-term benefits of economic policies that have been put in place.

The president warned fellow Democrats against "losing sight of that long game, and we start sulking and sitting back and not doing everything we can do to make sure our folks turn out."

While extolling the stimulus bill, the health care plan, and new regulations on Wall Street, Obama also warned Democrats that big gains by Republicans on Nov. 2 will put his agenda on hold.

"Unless we are able to maintain Democrats in the House and Senate, then we're going to be stalled for two years or four years, and we're going to start going backwards," he said.

(Posted by David Jackson)