Obama warns GOP could reverse progress

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (AP) -- President Barack Obama implored voters on Saturday to resist a Republican tide, warning that if the GOP prevails in Tuesday's midterm elections all the progress of his first two years in office "can be rolled back."

That would be just fine, said Rep. John Boehner, in line to become the new speaker if Republicans take the House, as expected. He declared, "Americans are demanding a new way forward in Washington."

Embarking on a four-state weekend campaign dash, Obama acknowledged the difficulties Democrats face. All four stops are in states Obama carried in 2008 - Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Illinois and Ohio. But Democratic candidates for the Senate, House and governorships are struggling in these places and elsewhere, and Obama is making a last-ditch plea for the party's core supporters not to abandon them.

Obama's sagging popularity has limited his ability to save Democratic candidates, and his legislative agenda may be deeply complicated if the GOP takes over the House, as many expect.

Unless Democratic voters turn out in big numbers, Obama said in a seven-minute talk, all the progress made in the past two years "can be rolled back."