Of the 53 Democratic
senators, it's the nearly two dozen facing re-election this year who are
causing jitters for Obama and the party. With control of the Senate at
stake, many of those Democrats are actively seeking ways to distance
themselves from a president who is deeply unpopular in their home
states.
After publicly exhibiting his goals
for the year in his State of the Union address last week, Obama is
making the pitch in more intimate settings now. A day after hosting
House Democrats in the East Room, Obama will travel to the baseball
stadium where the Washington Nationals play and where Senate Democrats
are holding an annual private summit.
With
prospects for capturing the House this year in doubt, Democrats have
intensified their focus on the Senate, where their tenuous majority will
be toppled in November if they lose more than five seats - out of 21
they are defending. Although Obama has had to rein in aspirations for
ambitious second-term legislation due to Republican control of the
House, his final years in office would be even more constrained were
Democrats to lose the Senate.
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