Washington ( CNN ) -- At pricey fundraisers -- where there 's plenty of freedom to offer an unvarnished view of the world away from the cameras -- President Barack Obama is sounding increasingly pessimistic about his party 's chances in the midterm elections . At a Thursday fundraiser at the Los Angeles home of actress Gwyneth Paltrow , Obama complained Democrats have a `` congenital disease '' during midterm cycles , repeating a diagnosis he has used before . `` We get depressed too easily , '' Obama joked . `` We 're terrible at paying attention to midterm elections , '' he continued . The gloomy mood is understandable . Former top Cabinet secretaries , and even Jimmy Carter , are hammering his policies . Key Democratic candidates are avoiding him , and in at least one case , unwilling to say if she voted for him . Next month 's elections loom at a moment of great hand-wringing for the president 's party . Understanding full well Obama 's unpopularity is a drag on some Democrats in tight congressional races , White House officials are signaling to party leaders and campaign managers alike there will be no consequences should they run away from the president in order to win . Obama has yet to acknowledge his own weak standing with the public at any of his political events . Instead , the president appears to blame what he describes as obstructionist Republicans and a polarized , vapid news media . `` We live in such a cynical time , partly because of how the media is now structured , '' Obama said at Paltrow 's home . `` We only listen to folks who feed our biases and our inclinations . And bad news tends to attract the most attention , '' he added . At an earlier event in the day , Obama used stark language to label House Republican refusals to pass immigration reform `` suicide . '' The president seemed to retool at least part of his midterm pitch , after declaring his policies are `` on the ballot '' in November , a line that his former strategist David Axelrod called a mistake . In Hollywood , there was a re-write to that declaration . `` My name is not on the ballot , '' Obama said in Los Angeles . `` But our values and our ideals ... are at stake , '' he added , avoiding any reference to his `` policies . '' Democratic candidates in critical races across the country are scrambling to distance themselves from both Obama and his policies , especially in the south where the president remains deeply unpopular . In Kentucky , Democratic Senate candidate Alison Lundergan Grimes refused to answer whether she had ever voted for Obama during an appearance before the Louisville Courier-Journal editorial board Thursday . `` You know , this election is n't about the president , '' Grimes said . `` I was actually , in '08 , a delegate for Hillary Clinton , '' she added . As he starts his own midterm push , the president is sticking to friendlier turf . In California , he made an unannounced stop at the campaign office of Democratic congressional candidate Ted Lieu , a state senator running for the seat vacated by outgoing Rep. Henry Waxman ( D ) California . `` California is right at the heart of the battle for control of the House , '' Obama said to volunteers at Lieu 's call center . `` Because of just the day-to-day work you 're doing , making phone calls , making sure our voters turn out , answering people 's questions about what the issues are , it makes a difference -- that 's how I was able to get elected . '' White House officials reject the notion that the president 's mood is grim . Obama 's message at upcoming public campaign events will likely differ in tone and substance from remarks he makes at fundraisers , another official added . Obama will campaign with Connecticut governor Dan Malloy on October 15 , White House officials announced Thursday . Obama 's advisers argue the president still has the ability to excite base Democratic party supporters who were instrumental to his two successful runs for the White House . Steering clear of Obama , they argue , is also a gamble . `` We 're not bringing him in to suppress voter turnout , if that 's what you 're asking , '' Malloy quipped to the Connecticut Post . As soon as the president steps onto the stage in Connecticut , the president 's rhetoric will be placed under a microscope . `` Not a great way to go out of office , angry and blaming the system , '' former presidential adviser and CNN political analyst David Gergen said . `` My sense of it is he 's on an emotional roller coaster , '' Gergen added . Once the midterms are over , Gergen suggested a reshuffling of top White House staff to buoy the president 's prospects for his final years in office . `` If he shook it up a little bit , that would help , '' Gergen said .
Obama sounds increasingly pessimistic about Democrats ' chances in the midterms . Obama : `` We get depressed too easily , and we lose sight of what is really important to us - our values as a country.