Report: Dems uneasy at Obama missteps

WASHINGTON, June 13 (UPI) -- Some Democratic strategists are raising the possibility of leadership changes in President Obama's re-election campaign amid a recent rough patch of bad news.

The Washington Post said there are growing concerns the president's veteran political staff might not be handling the new adversity as well as necessary and could require a shakeup to salvage the summer.

"The bad thing is, there is no new thinking in that circle," one Democratic campaign operative told the newspaper on the condition of anonymity.

The past few weeks have been marked by bad economic news and some public-relations missteps at the same time likely Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney has been improving in the polls.

The Post said other experienced Democratic campaign strategists share such concerns. A memo released this week by the consulting group Democracy Corps warned party leaders, "We will face an impossible headwind in November if we do not move to a new narrative, one that contextualizes the recovery, but, more importantly, focuses on what we will do to make a better future for the middle class."

Campaign aides are not ready to hit the panic button, the Post said, and maintain the choice in November will be who has a better chance of improving the lot of the middle class and handling issues such as energy policy and the war in Afghanistan.