“The short-term strategy is, win the House of Representatives,” stated the former president, garnering applause. “Because that’s going to be the circuit breaker that will give us control of one major component of the federal government. With that as a bulwark, we’re now able to block some of the worst impulses that are coming out of this White House.”

The former president laid out a two-pronged strategy for Democrats: to reclaim a House majority next year, and to work on honing the party’s messaging in the coming years.

“Long term, let’s tell a story, a better story about who we are as Americans and what we share,” Obama said, according to excerpts shared with CBS News. “We have to tell the story that makes people who feel outside that process, we’ve got to bring them back in.”