Voters demanded change from Washington on Tuesday, and Republicans say it’s now up to President Barack Obama to deliver it.
But don’t count on that happening.
The White House that emerges after the midterm elections won’t look, act or sound drastically different than the one battered for months by Republicans and abandoned by Democrats desperate to hang onto power. The president will seek some common ground with Republicans, but there are limits to how far Obama wants to go — and Senate Democrats will let him go.
Despite losing the Senate, Obama doesn’t think too much should be read into election results from a handful of states that never approved of his job performance in the first place. Obama acknowledges that he needs to do better, and he will make modest adjustments to his staffing, messaging and legislative strategy in response. But he won’t pivot to the right, as he did after his self-proclaimed shellacking in 2010, White House officials said in interviews this week.
Obama will strike a tone of compromise and accountability during his public remarks Wednesday, promising to work with Republicans who are interested in working with him. He’s gone almost two years without a major legislative achievement, leaving him “very willing” to start cutting deals, a senior administration official said, possibly on trade, corporate taxes and patent reform. Still, this posture isn’t much different than the one he’s projected for years.
At the same time, Obama won’t back down from using his administrative powers, including plans to issue an executive order on immigration that could be the most aggressive unilateral action of his presidency.
(Excerpt) Read more at politico.com ...
