WE'RE SIX YEARS IN...:

"If he gets blamed for some of the losses, I hope he also gets credit for developing some of the get-out-the-vote apparatus that could help save some of these seats," said David Axelrod, a political adviser to Mr. Obama.

The rift represents a larger dispute about the party's future going into the 2016 presidential race. It pits strategists who believe Democrats must carve out an identity independent from Mr. Obama to win over centrist voters against those who say turning out the president's coalition is the new formula for success.

For now, though, the pre-emptive recriminations have begun. Tensions are growing between the White House and the party's congressional leaders. Both sides are reluctant to air the dispute publicly, especially a week before the balloting, but some are acknowledging it exists.

"We have disagreements with the White House, but we also have a lot of things we agree on," said David Krone, chief of staff for the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid of Nevada.

Democrats were angered when Mr. Obama said in an Oct. 2 speech in Illinois that his economic policies were on the ballot, and they were stunned last week when he said on Al Sharpton's radio show that Democratic candidates who have done so much to distance themselves from him "are all folks who vote with me."

Paul Begala, a Democratic strategist, said he was puzzled over how a president who so appreciates the power of words could have been so careless.

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