WASHINGTON (AP) - White House chief of staff Bill Daley told Democratic activists Saturday to "keep up the fight" and not lose faith despite continued hard economic times.
Daley recalled the days after the November elections, when Republicans won the House and increased their ranks in the Senate.
He said the conventional wisdom was that President Barack Obama's agenda had stalled. But by year's end, Obama had a tax-cut deal with Republicans, the Senate ratified a nuclear arms treaty with Russia and Congress approved the long-stalled repeal of a ban on openly gay military service.
Daley told the activists that their backing has helped the administration be successful. He asked for their continued support, saying "we've got big things to do together."
Daley spoke in Washington at a Democratic National Committee meeting.