Reid: Dems' biggest failure is not selling accomplishments

Democrats' biggest mistake has been failing to sell the public on their legislative accomplishments, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Friday.

Reid, who's facing a tough reelection battle 11 days from now, said that Democrats didn't have the time to go out and promote some of their signature achievements, be it the stimulus bill, healthcare reform, Wall Street reform or other legislation that made its way through Congress in the last two years.

"I think the biggest thing we didn't do right was tout what we've done," Reid said Friday during an interview on CNBC. "We really didn't have time to talk about the things that we've accomplished."

GOP aides assert that Reid's complaint is especially ridiculous, given the number of Democrats who have run away from health reform or the stimulus on the campaign trail.

Reid's lament echoes the concern that many other Democrats have expressed about their political standing heading into Nov. 2, when Republicans are expected to make major gains in the midterm elections. Reid's own job could be on the chopping block, as he faces a tough challenge from the Tea Party-backed GOP candidate, Sharron Angle.

Democrats have said that the heavy spending against them, supported by corporations and wealthy individuals, has drowned out their messaging and their ability to sell their agenda.

"I haven’t been at a policy-problem meeting in 20 months," White House press secretary Robert Gibbs told The New York Times in a piece published last week, joking about the divide between good policy and good communications.

Republicans have typically laughed off such claims by Democrats, asserting that voters are readily familiar with what Democrats have accomplished and are prepared to vote them out of office because of their distaste for what incumbent leaders have done.

Reid has worked to sell his own influence and his party's accomplishments to voters in Nevada, where he's locked in a neck-and-neck race with Angle. But the top Senate Democrat acknowledged that it's been difficult.

"I don't think we did a good job of selling the really good things that we did," he said.

Updated 11:54 a.m.