One-- The number of times since 1865 that a second-term president saw his party make midterm gains in Congress, 1998.President Obama has worked for two weeks to set up his meetings with congressional Democrats, but are they ready to go cliff diving with him one more time?With 2014 shaping up as a stormy sea for Democrats, Obamas invitation to take the plunge isnt so appealing.Obamas speeches in Illinois, Missouri, Florida and Tennessee were billed as rallying the public to Obamanomics. But Obama was really trying to rally his team back in Washington, both in Congress and in the press. It was his opening bid in the coming battles over debt, spending and health care. Obama was reminding the press and his party that they should be discussing his dead-letter proposals for higher taxes and spending rather than phony scandals.After six months of stalemate, Obama is trying to convince the blue team that just a little more gridlock will cause Republicans to break and yield the midterm victories and momentum needed to allow his second-term agenda to become relevant. To borrow a phrase: The audacity of nope.As he heads to the Hill today, Obama is asking Democrats to stand firm for gridlock one more time. As evidenced by his new definition of grand bargain, Obama is urging his fellow Democrats to mirror the hidebound intransigency of which he accuses Republicans.But as Democratic lawmakers listen to the president today again call for them to gird LOS ANGELES Two years ago, the Los Angeles Unified School District tried to spruce up its lunch menu, with cafeteria ladies dishing out chicken tandoori, sushi, and broccoli and beef with brown rice.The kids hated it.So the nation's second-largest school district went back to basics. The district overhauled the menu last year after students turned away from unfamiliar fare. This year's menu will feature enchiladas, lasagna and beef sliders."There's nothing that the kids said, out and out, 'Get rid of that,'" Food Services chief David Hinkle told the Daily News of Los Angeles (http://bit.ly/18RYnM7). "We're trying to keep the menu cycle the same and interject a few new things here and there, based on student feedback."The district will try to sneak some goodness into the food. The fare, which will include taco salad and chicken-and-waffles, is designed to cut down on fat, salt and sugar and to meet federal nutritional guidelines."I'm really excited about the savory waffle," Binkle said. "It's a potato and chives, yeast-raised waffle with no sugar added. Students tried it this summer, and I believe that it will be a successful product."A few selections were created by students who won district-run culinary contests held last year.Guadalupe Gonzalez of Panorama High School came up with a breakfast tart containing fresh fruit and fruit syrup.West Adams High School students Esther Segura and Jose Landaverde contributed the "Tex-Mex Corn Bre