Obama tells Democrats "it doesn't help to whine about the stuff you can't change"

Former President Obama exhorted House Democrats to celebrate their accomplishments on the campaign trail, rather than dwell on the setbacks they've faced, as they try to defend their slim majority in the midterm elections this year. 

Obama, the featured keynote speaker during the caucus' virtual messaging summit Thursday, told lawmakers to "take the wins you can get" and it "doesn't help to whine about the stuff you can't change," according to two sources familiar with the conversation. He argued that they have a more compelling message in selling what their legislative successes mean to voters, rather than campaigning from a defensive crouch, one source said. 

Be aggressive about highlighting the progress President Biden and House Democrats have made on issues from COVID-19 to the economy, the former president told the caucus. He reminded them of the fight to pass the nation's health care law, the Affordable Care Act, when he was president — and their failure to include a public option. It was a way of reiterating that Democrats shouldn't let what they didn't accomplish stop them from celebrating what they did accomplish.