Obama: Dems need to reflect on election loss

President Obama on Monday encouraged Democrats to reflect on the reasons for their crushing loss to Donald Trump six days ago.

{mosads}“I think it’s a healthy thing for the Democratic Party to go through some reflection,” Obama told reporters Monday afternoon, the first time he took questions from the press since Trump’s victory stunned the political world.

Despite his self-professed desire not to be “big-footing that conversation,” Obama decided to weigh in on the future of his shattered party, which now faces the daunting task of rebuilding. 

Not only did Democrats fail to hold onto to the White House — they were unsuccessful in taking back control of the Senate or the House. 

Obama said Democrats should not deviate from their “core set of values” around economic fairness, diversity and inclusiveness, but added, “how we organize politically is something we should spend some time thinking about.”

He appeared to question Hillary Clinton’s decision not to aggressively campaign in Rust Belt states such as Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, that have traditionally been Democratic strongholds. 

“Good ideas don’t matter if people don’t hear them,” Obama said. “We have to compete everywhere. We have to show up everywhere.”

The president cited his own active campaigning in Iowa, a state he won twice but Clinton lost to Trump, es evidence. 

He also sought to reassure Democrats fretting about the prospect of spending the next two years or four years in the political wilderness. 

“Things change pretty rapidly, but they don’t change inevitably,” he said. “They change because you work for it. Nobody said democracy is supposed to be easy. It’s hard.”