WASHINGTON —  Former President Clinton told Democrats Thursday night it won't take any special magic for them to win the White House again.

"All that has to happen is you have to have a clear vision, a plan for the future, good campaign tactics and fight like the devil," said Clinton. "We need to brand ourselves better. There were too many people who didn't know why we were Democrats except that we were against President Bush's policies."

Clinton spoke at a rally honoring outgoing Democratic Chairman Terry McAuliffe (search).

"He got us out of debt, modernized our technology and fund raising and kept us energized in good times and bad," Clinton said of his friend.

Both Clinton and Sen. John Kerry, the 2004 presidential nominee, urged Democrats to build on McAuliffe's work.

"The best way we can honor all that Terry has done and help (apparent new chairman) Howard Dean (search) do what he needs to do," said Kerry, "is invest in our future and continue building from the grass roots on up."