It’s no secret that Democrats are worried about what could happen to the party in 2012. The embarrassing loss of a decades-old Democratic stronghold in New York’s ninth district earlier this week only stoked fears that Republicans could pull off a trifecta. In a CNN op-ed, strategist James Carville wrote it’s time to panic.

At a fundraiser in Washington Friday night, President Obama sought to soothe jittery donors, telling them that it’s way too soon to push the panic button.

“Now, I know that, over the last couple of months, there have been Democrats who voiced concerns and nervousness about, well, in this kind of economy, isn’t this just — aren’t these just huge headwinds in terms of your reelection?” Obama said. “And I just have to remind people that — here’s one thing I know for certain. The odds of me being reelected are much higher than the odds of me being elected in the first place.”

The president told the 50 couples who’d paid $35,800 to attend the event at the home of Elizabeth Frawley Bagley, a former ambassador to Portugal, that his team is “very confident about our ability to win a contest of ideas in 2012 — as long as we can get the message out.” He also said that the campaign has not started yet and he’s got a “day job” that’s going to require a lot of time spent governing during the next several months.

(Photo: Martin H. Simon-Pool/Getty Images)