A6
Politics & The Nation obama from A1 One adviser said they spent the
pastdozendays “soul-searching.” Another said that, around the
White House, “people aren’t just sitting around doing soul-search- ing. They’re gaming out the short, mediumandlong term.” “People have given a lot of
thought to this,” said that adviser, who like others interviewedspoke on the condition of anonymity in order to freely discuss internal deliberations. In some ways, they said, the
midtermswere not as bleak a har- binger as some Democrats fear. Though Republicans took the House and narrowed the Demo- cratic margin in the Senate, Obama’s personal-approval rat- ings remain high and his core constituencies remain highly sup- portive. Re-energizing them will be amonghispriorities. Officials stressed that the plans
for the coming weeks are still be- ingformedandarelikelytoevolve, especially as they determinewhat issues are most viable during the lame-duck session of Congress, which begins this week. Obama returns fromJapanonSunday. Advisers also said itwill proba-
bly take months, if not longer, to develop a strategy for restoring some of the early promise of the Obama presidency, particularly the notion that he was a different kindofDemocrat. In a nod to that ambition, his
weekly address Saturday focused on earmark reform, one way, Obama said, of “restoring public trust.” Republican leaders in the House are preparing a vote on earmarkbansnextweek,although in their own address Saturday theymade nomention ofworking withthepresident onthe issue.
Chance for compromise? Over the next few days, White
Houseofficials saidtheywillbegin to gauge whether they can forge an alliance with any top Republi- cans, many of whom are sched- uled to attend a bipartisan meet- ing at theWhite House on Thurs- day. AlthoughObama could bene- fit
SAUL LOEB/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE VIA GETTY IMAGES Pete Rouse, President Obama’s acting chief of staff, is completing an assessment that could lead to more personnel shifts at the WhiteHouse.
outanyRepublicanintransigence. “Very clearly, the Republicans
have been given greater authority, and with that authority comes re- sponsibility,” saidWhiteHouse se- nior adviser David Axelrod. “Peo- ple are looking for progress, not gridlock.” Another senior official ac-
knowledged that the trust level between the two sides heading into Thursday’s meeting is rela- tively low, saying theWhiteHouse is “hopeful but not naive” about striking adeal. Whether Obama will find a
partner in Rep. John A. Boehner (R-Ohio), presumed to be the next Housespeaker,orSenateMinority LeaderMitchMcConnell (R-Ky.) is anopenquestion. BothRepublicans have indicat-
from a high-profile
compromise — perhaps on ex- tending the Bush-era tax cuts or on other tax initiatives set to ex- pire before the end of the year — officials are also prepared to point
ed a willingness to find common ground, but both have also sug- gested that working with the WhiteHousewon’tbe a toppriori- ty. McConnell has said flatly that his primary goal over thenext two years is tomake sureObama isnot
reelected. “One day they say they want to
workwithus,anotherdayMcCon- nell says his first priority is to defeat the president,” one official said. If Obama is going to strike deals, it “could be different people ondifferent issues.” One of the questions Obama
faced after Election Day was whether he “got it” — got, that is, voters’ frustration with his gover- nance and policies.Obama hinted that he did in some respects, not- ing that his failure to make gov- ernment more transparent or to curb earmarks did not live up to thehighstandardshehadset. Once he is back inWashington,
Obama will make a more overt effort to demonstrate that he is addressing those promises, aides said. The president’s advisers hope that a series of upcoming personnelmoves—comingasout- side critics call for aWhiteHouse shake-up — will put Obama in a stronger position to make sub- stantive progress, especially on
the economy. Certain changes are imminent,
including some steps that were underway but have now taken on newimportance, suchas finding a replacement for economic adviser Lawrence H. Summers and get- ting Jacob Lew confirmed at the Office of Management and Bud- get. Both thosemoves are expect- edby the endof the year. Shortly thereafter — probably
following the State of the Union address in late January—Axelrod will leave, with former campaign manager David Plouffe moving into theWhiteHouse to assume a similar role, advisers said. And Pete Rouse, the acting chief of staff, is about to complete an as- sessment of the White House bu- reaucracy that could lead tomore personnel shifts. The changes, however, will not
come in a dramatic fashion, as President GeorgeW. Bush’s firing of Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld right after the 2006 midterms did. Outsiders expect
the changes to feel subtle, given theObama track record. “There isn’t going to be a reset
button.That’snot their style,” said a Democratic strategist who works with the White House on several issues. “Theydon’t likepiv- ots, and they also believe they’re right.” Norwoulditnecessarilybewise
forObamatomake suddenchang- es just days after an election that rendered mixed results, outside Democrats said. Right after the Democrats’
heavylosses inthe1994midterms, Stanley Greenberg, President Bill Clinton’spollster, recalledgoingto ameeting tomap out their come- backstrategy. “Wemet intheCabi- net roomtwodaysafterandtalked aboutwhatwewere going todo. It had nothing to do with what we ultimately did,” Greenberg said, laughing. For Clinton, he said, figuring
out his strategy took nearly six months and continually changed. The same is likely to be true with
EZ SU
KLMNO
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2010 ‘Soul-searching’ Obama aides reevaluate after elections
Obama. “Who knows where this is go-
ing? They may not know,” Green- berg said. More important, he said, referring toObama, “hemay not know.” Obama’sadvisersheldnopoliti-
cal summit todiscuss themidterm results, one said, but rather workedontheproblems individu- ally.Regularpoliticalmeetingsare expected to resume afterObama’s return.
Starting point Some of the building blocks for
2011are fallingintoplace.The two setpiecesat thebeginningofevery year are the budget, which the White House sends to Congress, andtheStateof theUnion.Togeth- er they will reveal many of Obama’s designs on the economy, his spending—and, perhaps, cut- ting—priorities andhis overarch- ing narrative about howhe thinks thenext two yearswillproceed. “The State of the Union will
really be, I think, the target for ‘Did they really learn anything?’ ” saidDeeDeeMyers,aformerClin- ton press secretary. “Everything else is going to bewhitenoise.” One senior official said the key
is to neither overreact nor under- react to themidterms but to accu- ratelypinpoint theareas thatwere truly problematic for the presi- dent andtry to act onthem. An overreading of the election
— something the White House thinksmany pundits have done— would include exaggerations about the lackof youthturnout. In the end, young voters were not as motivated as they were in 2008. But inmidterms they rarely are. Obamawillneedtoenergizehis
core coalition,made up of young, African American and Hispanic voters, and to reengage single women. Yet he does not need to behave as though his base has collapsed, his advisers said. His- panics helped Democrats retain the Senate, serving as a firewall in Nevada andCalifornia. Onthe otherhand, “underread-
ingitwouldbetothinkthatwedid all the right things and didn’t say them the right way, and if people had just listened they would have gotten it,” one senior administra- tion official said. “That’s notwhat we think.That’snotwhat thepres- ident thinks.”
kornbluta@washpost.com
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