Democrats prepare for defeat - despite Bill Clinton's rescue bid

Just days before congressional elections, government reports released yesterday painted depicted a grim US economic picture that's expected to lead to big losses by President Barack Obama's Democrats.

Voters dissatisfied with the country's slow recovery from the recession are likely to punish Mr Obama's party, costing them control of the House of Representatives and possibly the Senate. All 435 House seats and 37 of the 100 Senate seats are on the ballot on Tuesday.

The Commerce Department said yesterday that the economy expanded at a 2 per cent annual rate during the July-September quarter.

That marked an improvement from the feeble 1.7 per cent growth in the April-June quarter, but the economy still is not growing at a strong enough pace to make a noticeable dent in high unemployment.

Nearly 15 million Americans are out of work.

Mr Obama, who is not on the ballot himself for another two years, has been campaigning heavily for Democratic lawmakers to avoid a Republican-controlled Congress that could bring his agenda to a near standstill halfway through his term.

Last night, the president appeared at an event in Maryland, before moving on to nearby Virginia for a campaign rally for Democratic Representative Tom Perriello.

Meanwhile, former president Bill Clinton also has been jumping back into the political spotlight to bolster his party, hoping to remind voters of better economic times during his eight years in the White House.

This week, he was in Pennsylvania to try to sway a pivotal Senate race for Democrat Joe Sestak, a House member who is locked in a tight race with Republican Pat Toomey, a former congressman.

The contest is considered essential for Republicans if they are to have any chance of taking control of the Senate.

Mr Clinton may also be doing some behind-the-scenes work for Democrats as reports emerged that he almost succeeded in getting the trailing Democratic Senate candidate in Florida to drop out and endorse the state's independent governor. The three-way race is led by a Republican who is favoured by the ultraconservative Tea Party movement.

Polls in Florida show that Democrat Kendrick Meek is far behind Republican Marco Rubio as well as governor Charlie Crist, a Republican who opted to run as an independent when he trailed Mr Rubio ahead of the party's primary.

If a deal for Mr Meek to drop out had been struck, Mr Crist would have been expected to side with the Democrats.