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Washington (CNN) — President Obama could announce as early as Friday morning that he will tap Austan Goolsbee to be chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, according to two senior administration officials familiar with the announcement.

Goolsbee will replace Christina Romer, who stepped down earlier this month as chairwoman of the CEA, a panel of three White House officials who offer the president economic advice and help formulate policy. Goolsbee and Cecilia Rouse are the other two members.

It’s a crucial job as the Obama administration continues to try and dig out of the worst recession since the Great Depression on the eve of a midterm election in which Democrats find the economic anxiety threatening their majorities in the House and Senate.

But Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Larry Summers, chairman of the White House’s separate National Economic Council, are still the most senior members of the economic team. Senior administration officials note the never-shy Goolsbee has previously clashed with Summers in private over policy, but the officials said that those discussions were spirited but also professional.

Goolsbee has been a trusted adviser to Obama since the 2008 campaign and is known for being aggressive about challenging Republican criticism of White House economic policy, striking a tone that’s similar to the strident approach Obama took Wednesday when he delivered a speech in Cleveland accusing House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, of failing to offer any new ideas to deal with the crisis.

In addition to serving under Romer as a member of the Council of Economic Advisers, Goolsbee has also had the title of chief economist for the president’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board, a group of nongovernment officials like former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker that has been advising Obama on efforts to dig out of the economic slump.

Two senior administration officials said the plan is for the White House to officially announce Goolsbee’s elevation Friday, when Obama holds his first full-scale news conference since May. Obama is expected to open the event, at 11 a.m. in the East Room, with comments on the economy and may mention the appointment.

The financial crisis is the dominant issue heading into the November 2 midterm election. In his Cleveland speech, Obama unveiled three new proposals to spark the economy: a $200 billion tax cut that would allow businesses to write off 100 percent of expenses for new plants and equipment, a $100 billion business tax credit for research and developments costs and $50 billion in infrastructure spending.

But several senior officials acknowledged privately it is unlikely that the House and Senate will deal with those proposals until after the election. If Republicans take control of either or both chambers in the election, they will likely draft much different economic proposals when the new Congress opens next January.

Officials: Goolsbee gets economic post

(CNN) — Strategists on both sides of the political aisle weighed in this week on what President Obama and Republicans must do before the November midterms to give their parties a boost.

The 10-week to-do lists resulted in thousands of comments and suggestions from CNN readers, ranging from constructive to highly critical.

Readers suggested Obama look for a new job and put a muzzle on Vice President Joe Biden, while commenters providing advice for the GOP recommended a muzzle for former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.

Mouth guards aside, readers also offered up practical guidance for Obama and the GOP. Here are some of the suggestions:

1. For Obama: Govern from the center

CNN readers say they want to see Obama get behind a more bipartisan agenda. The No. 1 thing they want to see is job creation, and they don’t want partisan games to get in the way.

Commenters advised Obama to not be influenced by those on the far left and instead focus on what the American public wants.

2. Tout the administration’s accomplishments

Supporters of the health care legislation passed this year say they’re proud of it — and they want Obama to talk about it more. “Talk up Healthcare, because so many supported the bill!” one commenter suggested.

Obama signed the health care bill in March after a long, emotional debate in Congress. Now that the dust has settled, backers of the bill want to hear all about it.

“Talk about what you have done, and what you would like to do, and why,” another reader wrote.

3. Rise above the partisan bickering

“Quit politicking which further divides our nation,” one commenter posted.

Readers say they are sick of partisan games getting in the way of action on Capitol Hill — and they want the administration to stay out of the mudslinging.

4. Shake up the staff

Commenters are ready for some fresh faces. Even those supportive of Obama say they are ready for him to reload the strategy and bring in some new staffers.

5. Stay out of local issues

Readers say the want to see more presidential leadership from Obama. They want him to avoid getting involved with local issues and distractions and focus on the job at hand.

“Be a leader, be positive, plan for success, stay focused,” one reader said.

1. For Republicans: Steer clear of the far right commentators

Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck and Ann Coulter are doing more harm than good for the GOP, some commenters warned.

Readers say they want Republicans to avoid accepting what’s meant to be shock-jock entertainment as sound advice for the party.

2. Keep religion out of politics

“I’m a conservative person, and I’m all for people believing what they want to, but please keep it out of your politics,” one commenter posted.

Readers say they want Republicans to focus on issues such as jobs and the economy instead of trying to prove who is the better Christian.

3. Be conservative, but be bipartisan

Some commenters say that while they like conservatives, not all Republicans fit the bill. Readers say they want lawmakers to stick to their conservative ideas, with an understanding that working with Democrats instead of against them will be more productive.

4. Represent your constituents, not your party’s agenda

“The only thing I want to see from either party is a return to REPRESENTING THEIR CONSTITUENTS, not their party,” a reader said. “When your constituents in large numbers oppose a bill, your obligation is to them.”

“I’m tired of politicians being elected and then ignoring what their constituents want or don’t want. Suddenly the only thing they care about is party support,” the reader continued.

Commenters want their elected officials to listen to them instead of being afraid of breaking with the party.

“Show the American people that you’re capable of putting them ahead of your party,” one person said.

5. Tell the voters what will be different if Republicans take power

“Republicans are going to take back the House and Senate, and it will change absolutely nothing,” one reader said, arguing that both parties are controlled by special interests.

Voters want to know how things would change if Republicans had the majority.

Do you have more suggestions for President Obama or lawmakers? Weigh in below.

To-do list: Your ideas for Obama, GOP

(CNN) — President Obama is facing criticism that his message has gone off track at a crucial time for his party and administration. With the midterm elections just 10 weeks away, the president’s approval ratings are at their lowest. Analysts are predicting big wins for Republicans in November.

Ten weeks is an eternity in politics, and Republican and Democratic strategists say there are some key things Obama can do in the final stretch to restore the confidence of the American people and minimize expected losses for his party.

1. Simplify the message

Candidate Obama inspired voters in the 2008 election with a simple message of hope and change. Halfway through his term, the president now faces the complex reality of governing.

Despite the administration’s full plate, strategists say Obama needs to return to the focus and discipline that helped him win the presidency.

“That means less Professor Obama, more President Obama. It means fewer distinctions and shorter paragraphs,” said David Morey, a communications expert who advised Obama’s 2008 campaign.

“What should the message be? There should be three messages: Jobs, jobs, jobs,” he added.

Christopher Arterton, professor of political management at George Washington University, advised Obama to drop the soaring rhetoric and focus on more low-level policy stops.

“It’s a question of every day doing something on the economy and making sure that the news headlines are related to that,” he said.

2. Channel Ronald Reagan

Ronald Reagan, known as the “great communicator,” put communications front-and-center, Morey said.

“He focused and simplified the message. He communicated it. He built a consensus. He defined America’s role in the world, and that’s the challenge here,” he said.

Once Obama has honed his message, he should take it directly to the people in news conferences, said Morey, vice chairman of the Core Strategy Group.

“Nobody was better at that. I’m not sure why somebody with that intellect and those communications talents should be so tightly scripted.”

3. Propagandize the truth

“There is a great hunger for leaders who can rise above the political pettiness and tell the truth,” Morey said, pointing to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie as an example.

Video: Dean: ‘Obama is showing strength’

Video: Democrats fight for their jobs

Christie, a Republican, defeated Democrat Gov. Jon Corzine last year, becoming the first Republican governor of the state since 1997.

Since then, Christie has slashed the state’s budget and proved he doesn’t answer to his party alone. So far, the voters like him for it. A Quinnipiac survey released last week shows 61 percent of independents approve of how he’s handling his job.

A governor who tests GOP strategy

4. Go on the offense

“With barely an exception, the administration should stop equivocating, parsing and reacting,” Morey said.

In an era of 24/7 analysis on the television and online, it’s easy for a president to get caught up in the day-to-day distractions and mudslinging.

When sideshow issues pop up, the president must rise above them.

“I think it’s time to do the thing he does in 2008 better than any candidate I’ve ever seen — transcend,” Morey said.

“Ignore your opponents, ignore cable TV, ignore the extreme left and right. And play your game. Fight your fight for this election.”

5. Put up a fight

“This election, for better or for worse, depends on how hard the president fights between now and Election Day,” former Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

The president sets the tone, Dean said, “and for the president to be out there fighting, as he has been for the last two or three weeks, and sounding like Harry Truman, people love that stuff. They want to see a fighter. They want to see strength in their leaders, and I think President Obama is showing that strength.”

Despite the president’s low job-approval ratings, polls show most people like him personally. And, Arterton notes, Obama’s fundraising ability is a big boost for Democratic candidates.

6. Be positive

The American people want to hear what Obama is for instead of what he’s against, said Ron Christie, a Republican strategist who worked in the Bush administration from 2001 to 2004.

Disenchantment with Washington is high, and voters are looking to be inspired instead of angered.

“Stress why your vision, your leadership, your policies will benefit the American people and why the American people should have trust and confidence in your policies and positions,” said Christie, founder of the communications firm Christie Strategies.

“If they do that, that could minimize some of the expected losses. If they don’t, I think people will tune it out. I think people will recognize more of the same, and I think Democrats will be severely punished at the polls.”

7. Look to the future, not the past

Obama likes to point the finger at Republicans and the Bush administration for “driving the economy into a ditch.”

While that can be part of his message, it shouldn’t be the whole thing, Morey said.

“Elections ultimately are about the future, not the past. The Democratic Party is going to have to get onto the future jobs-centric growth plan,” he said. “They can start with a question of the past, but boy, that’s not a way to win an election, and it’s certainly not a way to govern once you win an election.”

8. Pay attention to independents

It’s necessary to fire up the base, but the independents are the ones with the power to swing the election.

“You are going to have your Republicans that support the Republican candidates. You are going to have the Democrats that support the Democratic candidates. The question really becomes what is the mood of the independents,” Christie said.

A Gallup poll released last month showed independents are leaning toward Republican candidates by a 12-point margin.

“The current snapshot has a clear message: Democrats should be afraid, very afraid,” John Avlon wrote in a column for CNN.com.

9. Be prepared for Election Day …

The party in power usually loses seats in midterm elections. The question this year is, “How many?”

If Democrats lose control of the House — or if their majority is just weakened — Obama should be prepared to do what President Bush and President Clinton did when their parties suffered big losses. They took responsibility and showed a willingness to reach across the aisle.

In 1994, Republicans took back control of the House and Senate for the first time in more than 40 years, picking up 40 seats in the House and eight in the Senate.

“I’m the president. I’m the leader of the efforts that we have made in the last two years, and to whatever extent we didn’t do what the people wanted us to do or they were not aware of what we had done, I must certainly bear my share of responsibility,” Clinton said the following day.

Twelve years later, when Democrats took back both chambers, Bush admitted his disappointment and said, “The message yesterday was clear: The American people want their leaders in Washington to set aside partisan differences.”

Whatever happens at the polls, Obama will need to digest the message from the public and adapt accordingly.

“President Obama has to heed the message that voters send him,” Christie said. “He’s not the Democratic president or the Republican president — he is the president of the American people.”

10. … but don’t stop at November

“This is the most important election in American history because it’s the next election, which is always true,” Arterton said.

Though a lot has changed since Obama was elected, he’s not even halfway through his term. The midterms are important, but no matter what the outcome, Obama will still be president for another two years, and it’s up to him to get the public focused on the future of the country and not politics.

“The best CEOs are able to get people looking beyond their quarterly earnings and even their annual performances,” Morey said.

“He needs to get people looking beyond the daily, monthly polling and even beyond this midterm election.”

10 things Obama must do in 10 weeks

(CNN) — Vice President Joe Biden had a strong message for fellow Democrats on Friday: After Election Day, expect to keep a majority in Congress.

“I’m here to tell you that on November 3, the day after this coming election, there will be in Washington, D.C., a Democratic majority in the House and a Democratic majority in the Senate,” Biden said at the Democratic National Committee’s summer meeting in St. Louis, Missouri. He joked, “and were it not illegal, I’d make book on it!”

Paraphrasing Mark Twain, the vice president said that reports of the death of the Democratic Party have been greatly exaggerated.

Polls have shown that congressional Democrats are facing an uphill challenge this year. Biden said that a large part of that has to do with Americans blaming their problems on the people at the top.

“Many [Americans] are stripped of their dignity. And they look out there, and they focus on the only person who’s there, the only one they see — and that’s the president of the United States and the Democratic Congress.”

But come Labor Day, he said, Americans are going to begin to compare the two parties and see major differences.

“When they start to look at the alternative, they’re going to see, and I’m going to get in trouble for saying this … this ain’t your father’s Republican Party. This is the Republican Tea Party,” he said to loud applause.

“The Republican Party of 2010 is the party of repeal and repeat,” he added. “Repeat the old practices of the past. I believe it’s out of step where the American people are. It’s our job between now and the election to draw those distinctions.”

Republicans have consistently hit back at Democrats, saying they are pursuing policies of big government and wasteful spending. GOP leaders argue that the American public, as witnessed in the polls and at Tea Party rallies across the country, are angry at the Democrats and want a change.

Biden: Democrats will keep the House and Senate

Washington (CNN) — The current ruckus over building an Islamic center and mosque near ground zero, calls to change the 14th Amendment and other so-called “wedge” issues are roiling up each party’s base, but they’re turning off independents, analysts say.

“This is party politics as usual with respect to all of these wedge issues,” said Jacqueline Salit, president of independentvoting.org, a national strategy and organizing center for independents. “I think there’s more and more of a steady recognition that these kind of wedge issues and political manipulation, sensationalism and opportunism is exactly what is degrading the American political process and our democracy.”

Salit, who is also the executive editor of The Neo-Independent magazine, said that people are having a hard time understanding what’s happening with the economy because of partisanship.

“I think people can’t tell what’s going on because the political environment is so polluted by partisanship,” she said. “The parties are trying to change the subject from things they think can inflame voters on and win elections on. How does that help the country? That hurts the country. And that’s what independents are deeply concerned about.”

Independents are increasingly concerned by both parties, and it’s evident in recent polls.

A CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll from late June found that nearly six in 10 independent voters said they are angry at both parties, with 4 percent angry only at the GOP and 6 percent mad only at Democrats. Just over three in 10 say they are not angry at either party.

Read more about the poll

Gallup Poll numbers from July indicate that while registered independent voters prefer Republican congressional candidates to Democratic ones, there is also some uncertainty.

“Currently about one in five independent registered voters are undecided or prefer a candidate from outside the two major parties, suggesting the potential for movement in these numbers between now and Election Day,” according to Gallup’s analysis. “The preferences of these voters, as well as which independents turn out on Election Day, will have a major impact on the direction and magnitude of seat change in the midterm elections.”

Independent voters often side with Republicans on fiscal issues and Democrats on social issues. But with the economy as issue No. 1, appealing to the influential voting bloc will be essential for Democrats as the midterm election approaches.

Bringing up divisive issues that distract from fixing the country’s economic woes will only create cracks in the bridge between the two major parties and independents, said Omar H. Ali, an independent voting analyst and professor at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro.

“Right now, there is a movement for nonpartisan reform in America and independents are leading that movement,” Ali said. “In some ways, this issue with the mosque is the latest attempt of trying to gain partisan interest against the Democrats. … But Democrats do the same thing to the Republicans [on other issues.]“

Independents, he said, are the watchdogs and “conscience of America” when it comes to issues like the economy. The blame game over who caused the economic recession only highlights what is wrong in American politics today, Ali said.

“Americans generally are very concerned about the economic state of the nation with rising unemployment and joblessness,” he said. “Independents feel that way but they’re much more attuned to the fact that economic downturn is connected to a poor political process, which keeps power concentrated in the hands of deeply partisan interests — namely the two major parties.”

While independents are generally turned off by partisan politics, they are not immune from weighing in on controversial issues.

Seventy percent of independents oppose the plan to build the Islamic center and mosque near ground zero, according to a recent CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll. By contrast, 54 percent of Democrats and 82 percent of Republicans opposed the plan.

The same poll also found a clear partisan divide on changing the Reconstruction-era 14th Amendment, which guarantees equal protection of law and defines who is a U.S. citizen. Fifty-eight percent of Republicans support a change while 39 percent of Democrats do so. Independents are split 50-50.

Read more about the poll

But the issue that most independents are concerned about pertains to political reform.

“There’s a lot of controversy, for example, around a whole set of political reform issues, which are the very things independents are concerned with — like open primaries and nonpartisan elections,” Salit said. “In state after state, independents are barred from voting in first-round primaries.”

Ali said having nonpartisan elections, ballot access reform and referendums are essential things for independents like himself.

“These are structural issues that go to the heart of the process and independents for over a quarter century have been voicing their concerns.”

Wedge issues angering independents

(CNN) — Voters in Washington state and Wyoming hold primaries Tuesday, with the Senate contest in Washington and a battle for the open Wyoming governor’s seat the most closely watched races of the day.

In Washington, Democratic Sen. Patty Murray and Republican candidate Dino Rossi are expected to emerge from a crowded primary field, setting up a November showdown. Under the state’s system, the two candidates who receive the most votes regardless of party affiliation move on to the general election. Voting has been underway for two weeks, with Washington primarily a mail-in ballot state.

In many ways, Murray and Rossi have already begun their general election campaigns, focusing their attacks on each other. Polls show a close race in the fall if they both advance.

Nathan Gonzales, political editor of the Rothenberg Political Report, said the system gives “a sneak preview of what a head-to-head race (in the fall) will look like.” But he cautions that analysts “should pause before drawing too many conclusions” on what the numbers from a primary race say about November.

For Rossi, this is the third run for statewide office in the last six years after twice losing close races for governor to Democrat Christine Gregoire. “Rossi’s past cuts both ways,” Gonzales said. “It gives him name recognition that can be expensive to get, but brings some of the dirty laundry that’s been aired in the past races.”

Among Republicans also running are conservatives Paul Akers and former NFL tight end Clint Didier. Didier has the backing of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who has recorded a robocall on his behalf. The Seattle Times reports Palin said in the call that “unlike establishment candidates who just talk about lower taxes, Clint has signed a pledge to do so.”

Murray is seeking a fourth term in the Senate and, as in her two previous re-election bids, she is a target of national Republicans. The Rothenberg Political Report rates the race a toss-up/tilt Democrat in the fall, but Gonzales said Republicans are optimistic they can change the outcome.

“It’s all about the cycle,” Gonzales said. “A majority of Americans are dissatisfied and looking for change. This is a year to tap in, in places like the Northwest where’s it been difficult in recent years.”

President Barack Obama will be in Seattle, Washington, on Tuesday appearing at a fundraiser for Murray. “Murray understands she’s a target,” said Gonzales, who added that the fundraiser is about getting “resources necessary to get her message out.”

While some Democrats have chosen not to appear alongside Obama, Gonzales noted that, “Republicans will try to tie Murray to Obama no matter what she does, so she might as well have the money to defend herself.”

The Washington secretary of state is predicting a 38 percent turnout in the primary, with voters allowed to drop off ballots until 8 p.m. PT on Tuesday.

In Wyoming, Republicans are hoping to reclaim the governor’s mansion as Democrat Dave Freudenthal leaves office. Seven Republicans are competing for the GOP nomination, while five Democrats are running for their party’s nod.

A Mason-Dixon poll conducted three weeks before the election for the Casper Star-Tribune showed that in the race for the GOP nomination, State Auditor Rita Meyer led former U.S. Attorney Matt Mead by a 27 percent to 24 percent margin, but her lead was inside the margin of error. Colin Simpson, son of former U.S. Sen. Alan Simpson, received 17 percent in the same GOP survey, while Ron Micheli polled at 12 percent.

Meyer received the backing of Palin in the final weeks of the campaign, with the former Alaska governor writing on her Facebook page, “her true grit has not escaped the eye of other Americans who know that at every level of political office we all benefit with commonsense constitutional conservatives in service.”

The Mason-Dixon poll showed Leslie Peterson leading Peter Gosar 30 percent to 22 percent in the battle for the Democratic nomination. Three other candidates polled at 2 percent or less.

General election already under way in Washington Senate race

Washington (CNN) — While he’s not on the ballot, George W. Bush is still vital to the midterm election as far as the nation’s top Democrat is concerned.

President Obama has made a point recently to invoke Bush’s name in what many say is a calculated effort to remind voters of the previous administration’s economic policies, which Democrats argue led to the worst recession in modern history.

On Monday, the president told those attending a Democratic fundraiser in Atlanta, Georgia, that the GOP has not distinguished itself from Bush.

“They have not come up with a single solitary, new idea to address the challenges of the American people,” Obama said. “They don’t have a single idea that’s different from George Bush’s ideas … not one.”

That sentiment was echoed once again on Wednesday during a speech before the AFL-CIO and at a fundraiser in Chicago, Illinois, a day later.

“They haven’t come out with a single solitary idea that is different from policies that held sway for eight years before Democrats took over,” Obama said Thursday. “Not a single policy difference that’s discernable from [George W.] Bush. Not one.”

Since taking office, Obama has largely referred to the “previous administration” or the “Republican control for the past eight years” in place of saying the name “Bush.”

So why the recent surge in Bush-bashing? It may have something to do with polls.

Video: Most negative campaign season ever?

Video: Obama: Job growth must increase

A Quinnipiac University poll, taken July 13-19, asked 2,181 registered voters: “Who do you blame more for the current condition of the U.S. economy: former President George W. Bush or President Barack Obama?”

Fifty-three percent said Bush; 25 percent said Obama; 21 percent said either neither, both or unsure.

Perhaps the most stark example of why Bush’s name is now a part of Obama’s stump speech comes from a poll by the Benenson Strategy Group, the president’s chief polling firm. The poll was taken for Third Way, a moderate think tank.

Conducted June 19-22 of 1,100 likely voters, the poll found that Bush’s economic principles are “almost universally rejected” by a large margin — and merely bringing up Bush’s name causes a swing in attitudes.

When respondents were asked whether they would prefer a candidate who “will stick with President Barack Obama’s economic policies” or “one who will return to President George W. Bush’s economic policies,” the result was a 15-point advantage for the Obama approach.

Read more of the poll results

“President Bush is the key here,” said Sean Gibbons of Third Way. “If you enter President Bush’s name into the equation and ask people when they’re making a choice at the polls between going forward with President Obama’s economic agenda or voting for a candidate who will pursue similar economic ideas as President Bush, Obama runs the table by 49 points. That is extraordinary.”

Conservatives fare better when one of the poll questions pitted generic conservative ideas on the economy to those of the Obama administration. It showed that a majority “actually favor conservative ideas,” Gibbons said, adding that “if you don’t use President Bush’s name, the whole thing flips.”

Republicans, meanwhile, discredit the notion that invoking Bush will change the outcome of the election.

“Democrats can keep talking about the [Bush administration], but they’ll do so in vain,” said Republican National Committee spokesman Doug Heye. “Voters are concerned with the here and now, which means a job market that has atrophied and foreclosures on the rise while the Democrats who control Washington pass a stimulus bill no one wanted.”

Oregon Republican Greg Walden, the deputy chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, has said that Democrats can “spin, they can sing, they can dance naked in the streets to say it’s about Bush, but he’s neither in the White House nor on the ballot.”

Texas GOP Rep. Pete Sessions, who chairs the campaign committee, told reporters in July that Republican candidates already “have their footing” in their races and noted that the former president has not participated in any political activities since he left office.

“He has not been involved. He does not do fundraisers. He’s said to us ‘I’m not interested in doing it’ and that’s goes back to the day he left,” Sessions added.

CNN’s Deirdre Walsh contributed to this report.

Can Bush-bashing help sway voters?

Washington (CNN) — If anyone doubted whether campaigning had started for the mid-term congressional elections in November, the answer became clear on Sunday.

Democratic and Republican politicians rolled out their main campaign themes on morning talk shows less than four months before voters will decide races for all 435 House seats and at least 36 of the 100 Senate posts.

West Virginia could decide to hold a special election in November to fill the seat of the late Democratic Sen. Robert Byrd, which would put 37 Senate seats in play.

To Republicans, the election is about halting the free-spending policies of a Democratic-controlled White House and Congress. For Democrats, the choice for voters is between moving forward to tackle tough issues or going back to failed GOP policies of the past.

While Democrats repeatedly invoke the crippling recession and increased deficits of the Bush administration, Republicans say the problem now is how the majority party forces through unpopular and irresponsibly expensive legislation.

“How long can the other side run against the previous administration?” asked Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, on the CNN program “State of the Union.” “They’ve been in charge now for a year and a half. They’ve been on a gargantuan spending spree.”

On the same show, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Maryland, shot back that the nation needs to progress rather than boomerang.

“What we’re going to focus on is not returning to the failed Bush policies that brought us to this point, but focus on the efforts that we have made which are making progress,” Hoyer said. “We haven’t succeeded yet, but we are making substantial progress. The economy is growing. We are creating jobs.”

Video: Hoyer talks about high anxiety of U.S.

Video: McConnell explains his ‘groove’ comment

Democrats conceded that the slow economic recovery, with unemployment still above 9 percent, continues to rankle voters upset with the entire Washington establishment. However, both Hoyer and Vice President Joe Biden took aim at GOP calls to repeal major reform bills of the past year — the health insurance overhaul and increased Wall Street regulations — and replace them with less comprehensive proposals.

“Very frankly, we think that when Americans assess, ‘Do we want to go back; do we want to, in fact, repeal the successes we’ve had and repeat the mistakes that we’ve made that got us to this point,’ I think they’re going to say, no, they don’t want to go back to the Bush policies,” Hoyer said.

Appearing on the ABC program “This Week,” Biden complained of Republican efforts to obstruct any progress under President Barack Obama.

“There is the reality of whether or not the Republicans are willing to play, whether or not the Republicans are just about repeal and repeat the old policies or they’re really wanting to do something,” Biden said.

McConnell and other Republicans made no apologies.

“What we are proud to say ‘no’ to, and I think what the public wants us to say ‘no’ to, are things like the government running banks, insurance companies, car companies, nationalizing the student loan business, taking over our health care,” he said.

His GOP ally in the House, Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana, told “Fox News Sunday” that people don’t want all the costly reform legislation pushed by Democrats.

“All we’re getting from the Democratic majority in Congress and from this White House is more bailouts, more spending, more planned stimulus, more deficits and debt, and the American people have had it,” Pence said.

On the NBC program “Meet the Press,” Republican Rep. Pete Sessions of Texas blamed the nation’s economic woes dating to the previous administration on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, who became the nation’s first woman House Speaker in 2006.

“It is because Speaker Pelosi has been in charge for four years and denied (former President George W. Bush) the ability to continue doing what was successful in this country, and that is making the free enterprise system not only more powerful but competitive with the world,” Sessions said, later adding: “Today it’s about empowering government, and that is a mistake.”

Democrats, however, said Republicans are simply opposing whatever Obama and their party’s congressional leaders propose without offering any substantive alternatives. With primaries for November determining specific candidates, they say, the stark differences offered voters will become more apparent.

“The most vulnerable time any public official finds himself is in when they have no opponent,” Biden said, noting how Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, was thought to be in trouble until the Republican primary chose extreme conservative Sharron Angle to face him. Reid now holds a lead in the latest polling.

“I know my Republican colleagues would like to have everybody forget that their candidates are on the ballot, but their candidates will be on the ballot,” Sen. Robert Menendez, D-New Jersey, said on the NBC program. “And it’s not just talking about President Bush; it’s the policies that they espouse that are in essence Bush’s policies.

On the same show, Democratic Rep. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland said Republicans “want to get away, essentially, with carping and whining about everything here without telling the American people what they will do.”

He singled out the House Republican leader, Rep. John Boehner of Ohio, as an example of what the opposition seeks to do.

Boehner “just this week said that he’s going to move to repeal the Wall Street reform bill,” Van Hollen said. “Now, Wall Street lobbyists have been working very hard to try and defeat that Wall Street reform bill. “And what he is saying is, ‘Just wait. If I have the opportunity, I’m going to take care of it for you.’ So it’s that kind of thing that’s going to make it clear to the American people what kind of choice they have.”

However, GOP Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, also on the NBC program, said the public wants “checks and balances” in Washington.

“They’ve had single-party government, and it’s scaring the living daylights out of them,” Cornyn said, citing the health care reform bill as example. Asked what would happen with Republicans back in power, Cornyn said: “I think repeal and replace it with a common-sense solution.”

November election campaign in full swing

Washington (CNN) — House Democratic leaders met with President Barack Obama on Wednesday night to discuss legislative priorities in the run-up to the November mid-term election, but one topic was bypassed — the weekend assessment by White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs that Republicans could win back the chamber.

Aides to the House Democratic leaders told CNN that the meeting with Obama was productive and focused mostly on economic issues and policy. One leadership aide said Obama declared the Democrats would retain control of the House in November, but there was no mention in the meeting of the remark by Gibbs.

Earlier, senior Democratic officials said that at a private Capitol Hill meeting on Tuesday night, a string of House Democrats — including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi — expressed deep frustration that Gibbs had played into Republicans’ hands by answering a hypothetical question on NBC’s “Meet the Press” about whether Democrats may lose their grip on power.

In a statement that senior White House officials maintain was blindingly obvious and really not newsworthy, Gibbs said on Sunday, “I think there is no doubt there are enough seats in play — that could cause Republicans to gain control.”

The senior Democratic officials said it’s one thing for a pundit to state the obvious about the state of play in the election and quite another for a top White House official to offer an assessment that may depress the party’s base just as officials hope to start revving liberals up.

“Members were hot — hot, hot, hot,” one senior Democratic official told CNN about the private meeting Tuesday where House Democrats directed their anger at Dan Turton, a White House aide who attended the session.

A senior administration official acknowledged to CNN there was heavy tension at Tuesday’s congressional meeting, but stressed that many lawmakers also said that after expressing their frustration they now want to turn the page and did not plan to rail against the president himself at Wednesday night’s meeting at the White House with Pelosi and other leaders including Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland and Majority Whip Jim Clyburn of South Carolina.

Several House Democrats offered a similar message.

Rep. Chris Van Hollen, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chairman, took a jab at Gibbs on Wednesday when he told reporters that “people need to be aware of how their comments will be interpreted in a political environment.”

Later, in an interview with CNN, Van Hollen stressed the need to move past the comments by Gibbs.

“There is no upside to this and we need to get beyond this and focus less on what the president’s spokesman said on a news show and focus on what the Republicans say they will do if they get control of the House,” said Van Hollen, of Maryland. Republicans are asking voters “to send back the same guys who got the economy in the ditch to begin with,” he said.

Hoyer said Democrats need to get on the same page when they meet with Obama.

“I think our message to the president is we need to be speaking obviously on message from the White House, and from the House, and I think we need to be focused on what we’ve done to create jobs and move the country forward,” Hoyer said, repeating his comment Tuesday that “we’re going to maintain control of the House so I think any conclusion other than that is incorrect.”

Meanwhile, House Republican Leader John Boehner described the chamber’s Democratic caucus as “in chaos,” but acknowledged Republicans have “a steep hill to climb to get to the majority.”

“We’ve got a lot of work to do, but it is possible,” said Boehner, of Ohio.

Dina Titus, a first term Democrat from Nevada and a top target of Republicans, told CNN she hoped the party spat would “get Democrats all enthused and they turn out even more because these are tough races.”

But she also sought to distance herself from the White House and top Democrats, saying: “We’re just running our own race. I’m not Obama. I’m not Reid. I’m Dina Titus and that’s what we’re focusing on.”

Gibbs, on Wednesday at his White House briefing, sought to ease some of the tension by saying Pelosi’s efforts have been “monumental” on behalf of the president’s agenda. He also reiterated that his original comments on Sunday were meant to rally the party into coming together on showing voters there will be a sharp contrast between the Republican and Democratic agendas in November.

“On that choice we will do very well,” said Gibbs, adding that he believes Democrats will keep control of both the House and Senate.

Nevertheless, Gibbs’ comments sent alarm bells through the upper echelons of the Democratic party, especially because Van Hollen’s Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has a long-planned breakfast meeting Thursday with lobbyists who are key party fundraisers.

The committee, which is in charge of helping to elect House Democrats, had been hoping to project momentum in advance of Friday’s deadline to publicly reveal fundraising numbers for the first six months of this year.

The fear now among some top Democrats, in the words of one top party official, is that the Gibbs comments will “give the Republicans a big fundraising boost” as perception builds that Democrats are in even deeper trouble than already expected.

Gibbs himself has insisted all week that he was really just stating the obvious about the challenge Democrats are facing.

“I think I did what is maybe uncommon in this town and yesterday I opened my mouth and stated the obvious,” Gibbs said at Monday’s daily press briefing with reporters. “I do not believe that you all are now scurrying around to cover this election markedly different based on my having said that there are a number of seats that are in play.”

Gibbs has also stressed all week that he’s merely trying to focus everyone on the fact that both parties will be offering sharply different visions of how to deal with key issues like the economy.

“You’re going to have a choice between the leadership that we have now and the leadership that believes that BP should be apologized to first and foremost, and that the type of calamity wrought by the financial meltdown in the end of 2008 is analogous to the size of an ant,” Gibbs said Monday. “Those are choices that the American people are going to get a chance to hear and make in November.”

CNN’s Deirdre Walsh and Brianna Keilar contributed to this report.

Some Dems still fuming over Gibbs’ comments

Washington (CNN) — As President Obama campaigned for Rory Reid’s famous and powerful father in Nevada, the son was hundreds of miles away campaigning for governor.

While there’s no animosity between Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and his son, the younger Reid’s use of his first name on his campaign’s website and television ads is telling, a veteran political observer in Nevada said.

“Obviously he’s trying to downplay his last name,” said Jon Ralston, a columnist for the Las Vegas Sun and publisher of the Ralston Report. “In so obviously downplaying it, he’s called even more attention to it.”

The reason, he said: Poll numbers showing high unfavorable ratings for both Reids.

In a Las Vegas Review-Journal poll from June, 52 percent had an unfavorable view of Harry Reid. Polls also indicate Rory Reid trails his Republican gubernatorial opponent, Brian Sandoval, by double digits.

“The reason he’s [Rory] losing so badly is because his identity is inextricably linked to his father,” he said. “So his father’s negatives are attaching to him.”

Other political families on the ballot

Video: Obama stumps for Sen. Reid

Ralston also suspects that a majority of Nevadans simply do not want two Reids on the ballot.

“What Harry Reid is doing in his campaign is going to end up hurting Rory Reid. Even if he can convince people to hold their noses and vote for him, they’re not going to vote for two Reids. They might vote for Harry Reid … they’ll say ‘one Reid is my limit.’ “

Harry Reid has come to his son’s defense, saying in an interview with the Review-Journal that while he “cares a great deal about him … he has to run on his own.”

For his part, Rory Reid told Fox’s Las Vegas affiliate that he thinks “people know who I am and I like the way my first name sounds.”

And it’s evident. His campaign website’s top banner reads, “Rory2010″ — and on the “Meet Rory” biography section, there is no mention of his last name. His first television ad drew criticism because his last name was not mentioned. A recent ad, however, briefly used his last name.

“The story surrounding his first ad was how he didn’t mention his last name,” Ralston said. “They thought by putting his last name once in another ad, it wouldn’t be talked about as much … It’s become such an issue now that it’s very difficult for him to get away from it.”

And it didn’t take long for Republicans to jump on that. In an ad by the Republican Governors Association, two people appearing to be aides walk up to Rory Reid’s dressing room. A gold star on the door reads “Rory,” with his last name blacked out.

See more on the RGA’s ad

Political blogs and some residents are also poking fun at the name controversy.

The blog Wonkette, in a post titled “Rory Reid No Longer Related to Harry Reid,” reads: “It’s also funny how the Rory 2010 website refers to all other human beings with their last names, yet not him. Is Rory Reid better than other humans?”

In the letter to the editor section of the Review-Journal, Daniel Maxime of Las Vegas, wrote: “Elvis! Liza! Engelbert! Cher! Madonna! Rory! … When did Clark County Commissioner and Democratic gubernatorial nominee Rory Reid become a one-name star? Of course, if my last name were Reid, I surely would be running from it this election year.”

Ralston said Rory Reid’s campaign is overthinking the name issue.

“Everything he does is Rory this, Rory that. How often do you see that in a campaign where someone’s just using their first name?” he said. “It just doesn’t happen.”

So what can the gubernatorial candidate do to turn around his poll numbers?

“He should take a page out of his dad’s book: His dad realizes the only way for him to win is to raise his opponent’s negatives,” Ralston said. “That’s the only way that Rory Reid has a chance.”

Dan Hart, a political consultant who appeared on Ralston’s “Face to Face” television show, said give him time.

“He has to tell people about himself, what he’s accomplished, what his goals for the state are,” Hart said. “He will, and it will take a bit of time.”

Is Harry Reid’s name poisoning son’s campaign?