By JM Rieger and Matt Fuller

As a House Democratic retreat obsessed with messaging on the middle class came to a close Friday, Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. implored his congressional colleagues to not run from the White House’s economic record. “Let’s resolve to double down,” Biden told House Democrats assembled in the Sheraton ballroom. “Let’s resolve to double down right now.” He told Democrats they shouldn’t apologize for actions like the stimulus, the automotive industry bailout or the Troubled Asset Relief Program, which he called “probably the least popular vote we’ve had to take.” Biden suggested that, while these programs might be unpopular, they were wildly successful.