Democrats May Have Been Too Confident About a Win in the Massachusetts Senate Race

Now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine:

Strapped for Cash

Democratic pollster Celinda Lake says Martha Coakley's Massachusetts Senate campaign failed to commission any polls in the weeks leading up to last week's special election because it did not have enough money.

Lake tells CNN that Coakley asked national democratic organizations, including the White House, to help pay for the surveys but was denied. Lake says Democrats told Coakley she didn't need the polling. As you know, Republican Scott Brown went on to win the election by a five-point spread.

Runs in the Family

The vice president's office worked quickly over the weekend to refute a newspaper article asserting that Joe Biden had said his son Beau would not run for Delaware's open Senate seat this fall. One day after the refuted story, Beau himself came out and said he really doesn't want his father's former seat and instead will run for re-election as state attorney general.

Democratic strategist Douglas Shoen tells Fox: "Uncertainty pervades Democratic ranks — and the VP's office is no exception. A sure Democratic victory is now highly problematic — and the back and forth with Beau Biden and the VP's office underscores the uncertainty and indecision all Democrats are facing."

Delaware's appointed Interim Senator Ted Kaufman also reiterated today he is not interested in running for the seat this fall.

Heading Home

And as we mentioned earlier, six-term Arkansas Democratic Congressman Marion Berry says he will not seek re-election in November.

Berry tells Jane Fullerton of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that moderate Democrats should prepare for a midterm bloodbath, but says President Obama is dismissing any comparison to the 1994 elections where Democrats suffered big losses in the middle of Bill Clinton's first term.

Congressman Berry says: "the president himself — when that was brought up in one group — said, 'well, the big difference here and in '94 was you've got me.'" Berry adds: "We're going to see how much difference that makes now."

Today White House press secretary Robert Gibbs did not deny that the President said those words... and then added this:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

Press secretary Robert Gibbs: I hope it's not newsworthy to think that the president hopes and expects to be an effective campaigner in the midterm elections.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Apparently, Congressman Barry was not comforted by the president's words and promises.

— Fox News Channel's Megan Dumpe Kenworthy contributed to this report.