The Hill News

Vice President Joe Biden appeared at a campaign rally Tuesday and told the audience the 2010 midterm elections are more important than the 2008 contest that got him into the White House. 

Speaking on behalf of Iowa Democratic Rep. Leonard Boswell, Biden urged supporters “to get our base out. If our base gets out, we win across the board," according to a pool report.

{mosads}"We have worked too hard, folks, to walk away from this," he went on. "We have to buck up. This election is more important than the one where you elected us. We have finally turned this supertanker around, and it is headed home to port."

Biden and President Obama have gone to great lengths over the past several weeks to fire up the Democratic voting base, which polls show is lagging behind the GOP in enthusiasm. 

In an attempt to stave off a Republican wave this cycle, Obama has appeared at several large rallies intended to appeal to young voters that helped propel him to victory in 2008. Biden has also circled the country for House, Senate and gubernatorial candidates.

At a fundraiser last week, Obama said that if Republicans win majorities in Congress, his agenda will be stuck in gridlock for the next two years. Republicans have argued those same policies have not helped the economy get back on its feet, and Democrats should be voted out of office as a result.

Democrats have acknowledged the struggling economic recovery has lead to doldrums but said the Republican alternative would be worse.

The White House has also singled out figures and organizations aligned with Republicans such as House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) and the U.! S. Chamber of Commerce in an effort to paint the GOP as a regressive force for the country.