CAMBRIDGE, Md. — Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. bemoaned the state of the Republican Party on Friday morning as he delivered a pep talk for House Democrats struggling to maintain optimism heading into the midterm elections.  

“There isn’t a Republican Party,” Biden said. “I wish there were. I wish there was a Republican Party you could sit across the table from, make a deal, make a compromise and know when you got up from the table it could be done.”  

While Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Steve Israel shared “cold, hard realism” with his colleagues on Thursday regarding the prospects of taking back the House, Biden sought to keep their spirits up and said he was optimistic about the party’s prospects.  

“Between now and November is three political lifetimes,” Biden told House Democrats gathered for the annual retreat at the Hyatt Regency on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. “A lot is going to happen and a lot can change.” Biden said the issues favor Democrats.  

“For the first time in my career … on every major issue, the American people agree with the Democratic Party,” said Biden, rattling off areas where polling shows that agreement, such as: reproductive issues, early childhood education, an immigration overhaul, background checks for gun users and unemployment insurance.  

“I can’t think of a time when the issues that most affect the American people, most affect the middle class, overwhelmingly, overwhelmingly support us,” he said, praising DCCC recruitment of solid congressional candidates. The vice president offered to campaign where necessary and stressed that the game isn’t over yet.  

Biden, who has said he might run for president in 2016, has previously boasted he is in demand on the campaign trail.