You wouldn't know it by listening to many Democrats, but the last time I checked, the party still controls the White House, the U.S. Senate, the House of Representatives and 26 governor's offices across the country. And while they could be heading for a disaster in the 2010 elections, it's just as possible it could still be a very decent year for Democratic candidates. So, while they shouldn't really need it, for all those Democrats wringing their hands, here's a five-step plan for Democratic "recovery":

Step 1: Stop whining, stop bellyaching and, as Barack Obama's former campaign manager, David Plouffe, so eloquently put it in 2008 (quoting my mentor, the late Paul Tully), "stop bed-wetting." Stop overanalyzing 2009 losses in Virginia and New Jersey, where Democrats had two candidates with serious "issues." Stop talking about needing to move to the center to win back independent voters. Stop complaining that the Obama surge voters — those younger voters, African-Americans, Latinos and single women who came out in record numbers in '08 — didn't vote in '09 and won't vote again in 2010. Start legislating, start organizing and start mobilizing.

Step 2: Remember how big you won in 2008. Remember the huge turnout and how the pundits and pros were talking about a seismic shift in the electorate to the Democratic Party. Now, take a few moments and listen to Obama's stump speeches from 2008 to remind you what attracted millions of new voters, including independents, to the Democratic Party. Here's a snippet from Iowa in January 2008:

"At this defining moment, we cannot wait any longer for universal health care. We cannot wait to fix our schools. We cannot wait for good jobs and living wages and pensions we can count on."

In Florida in October 2008, Obama talked about a new set of priorities, investing $15 billion per year in renewable energy resources to create 5 million new green jobs in the next decade and putting 2 million people to work rebuilding schools, roads and communications networks — "an American infrastructure for the 21st century." He talked about early childhood education, an army of new, higher-paid teachers and money for tuition assistance for any young person willing to serve the country. Obama stood for change, for rebuilding the economy from the bottom up, with "an economic recovery plan not just for the CEOs but for the secretaries and the janitors." He gave a worried and anxious America hope and a plan that called for restoring America's middle class. Remind yourself, Democrats: That was the winning agenda; that was what attracted independents and base Democratic voters in record numbers to the polls to vote for Democrats in 2008.

Step 3: Don't be spooked by 2009. Instead, get organized in Congress and on the ground to move the Obama change agenda. What the voters said in the 2009 elections is that it's not about Obama or Congress; it's not about Democrats or Republicans. It is about us: real people with real problems that we want addressed.

The frustration voiced by independents and Obama surge voters in 2009 should be of real concern. These voters are still looking for change to happen and will keep voting for change — regardless of party — or not voting at all, until something real happens. In the 2008 election, what mattered most to voters was the candidate's ability to "bring change," and the 34 percent of voters who cited this quality in exit polls nationally voted 89 percent for Obama. Only a year later, in the New Jersey governor's race, 39 percent of voters cited the ability to "bring needed change" as the most important candidate quality, but these voters delivered a sharp rebuke to Democrats, and 67 percent voted for Republican Chris Christie.