Clinton's Supporters Question Her Strategy

But, according to two people who listened to the former president and the aides, the Clinton team is also trying to dramatically play down the importance of the caucuses' result, contending it was a home-turf win for Obama since he hails from a neighboring state.

The mood among the lawmakers was fairly calm, even upbeat, according to participants. One lawmaker, Rep. Diane Watson of Los Angeles, said her constituents paid little to attention to Iowa. "All anybody out here is talking about is Britney Spears," Watson said, according to a participant.

This participant attended a similar meeting with supporters of Howard Dean after his 2004 collapse in Iowa's Democratic caucuses; Washington backers gathered in the home of Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) on Capitol Hill and angrily denounced top Dean advisers. That was a sharp contrast with Friday's call.

"There's desperation, but there's no panic. The Dean call was absolute panic," the participant recalled, requesting anonymity to speak freely about both campaigns' internal deliberations.

At the same time, some of Clinton's congressional supporters pushed her to go on the offensive against Obama.

Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), one of 77 members of Congress to endorse Clinton, urged her to shift toward a campaign that draws a "sharp contrast" between herself and Obama. "Obama got to be more negative toward her than she was of him. . . . I don't think you can allow those dynamics to continue at all," Menendez said in an interview. He recommended that Clinton criticize Obama as he has her: "Substantively."

Menendez said the biggest mistake Clinton made in Iowa was not emphasizing her ability to bring about change because of her experience in Washington. "For the longest period of time in Iowa, all she talked about was strength and experience," he said. Put up against Obama, he said, "I don't think that's a juxtaposition that benefits Hillary very well."