Somebody apparently forgot to get the right talking points to President Obama on how Democrats see the battle for control of the Senate going.
At almost the exact moment that Sen. Chuck Schumer, the No. 3 Democrat in the chamber, was predicting that “we keep the Senate,” Obama sent an email to supporters that sounded somewhere between pessimistic and defeatist.
“I’ll just be honest,” it opened. “I don’t know who will win the Senate in nine days,” added the fundraising memo from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which Schumer used to head.
“A dozen Senate races could go either way — what you do now could make the difference. Republicans must win just six races to take over the Senate. The DSCC’s ‘Get Out The Vote’ operation is our final line of defense against Republicans winning. This massive grassroots effort can save the Democratic Senate if it is fully funded. But I’ll just be honest: If we fall short before midnight, we could lose the Senate,” said Obama.
It was mostly pre-election fundraising hype to spark a new wave of donations, but the president’s message was hardly the type cheerleading Schumer, of New York, gave on “Meet the Press” Sunday morning.
“I know all the pundits are saying Republicans will take the Senate. Democrats are going to prove the pundits wrong on Election Day when we keep the Senate,” he said according to Examiner reporter Joseph Lawler’s story on the show.
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected].
