Biden Makes Peace with Midterms

Playbook: “The overwhelming sense of confidencefrom the summer has given way to expectations management, with Biden advisers telling Playbook they are feeling cautiously optimistic (about the Senate) while preparing for the worst (in the House).”

“For all the Democratic fretting about a lack of a cohesive midterm message, they argue that the White House did its job: They executed a policy agenda that gave candidates more than enough to campaign on, giving them a fighting chance in what was destined to be an uphill battle.”

Said one Biden campaign alum: “Usually the president’s party gets absolutely destroyed. It’s usually catastrophic. Often they are avoiding the president’s agenda. If you look at what Dems are running on — it’s the president’s agenda. They’re all embracing it.”