President Barack Obama awakened Wednesday morning to a seismic shift in the nation’s political landscape.
Republicans not only had seized control of the Senate for the first time since 2006, they also had grown their House majority to the highest level since World War II and increased the number of governorships under GOP control.
So the question in advance of the president’s post-election news conference Wednesday was what his mien would be in the wake of the red wave that swamped Democratic candidates throughout the land.
Would he stand by the rather bold declaration he made last month that, while his name was not on the ballot, the midterm elections were a referendum on his policies?
Or would he reiterate the statement he made on Election Day — that Democratic losses were to be expected because the party had the misfortune of facing its worst midterm election map since Dwight Eisenhower was president?
Our hope was that Obama would concede that his policies had been soundly rejected by the voters. In so doing, he would have evinced the kind of humility he needs to summon if he is to improve the near-toxic relations he has with the new Republican-controlled Congress.
Well, Obama did not accept that his policies were repudiated Tuesday by the American people. In fact, he noted that in five states voters approved ballot measures that raised their state minimum wage — a proxy, he submitted, for his proposal to raise the federal minimum wage.
But the president could not be accused of petulance during his more than hour-long press conference.
Indeed, we thought him rather gracious in defeat, promising to spend more face time with House Speaker John Boehner and presumptive Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell.
But it was not just that Obama pledged to “reach out” to the party of Boehner and McConnell, but also that he understands that the onus is on him to dial down the extreme partisanship that has prevailed in Washington during much of the past six years Mr. Obama has spent in the White House.
“The American people overwhelmingly believe this town doesn’t work well,” the president said. “And … they rightly hold me accountable to do more to make it work properly.”
As a first step to changing the tenor in the nation’s capital, Obama has invited both Republican and Democratic leaders to the White House on Friday to talk about an agenda for the upcoming lame-duck session and beyond.
The president notes that there are several areas of agreement that could be starting points for post-election détente between the two parties, including rebuilding the nation’s infrastructure, more government support for early childhood education and expanding foreign trade.
The problem is that the outcome of the midterm election has not dissuaded Obama from taking executive actions that are anathema to Republicans on Capitol Hill. In fact the president acknowledged his plan to take unilateral action on immigration reform before the conclusion of the current session of Congress.
“I have consistently said that it is my profound preference and interest to see Congress act on a comprehensive immigration reform bill,” the president said. “But what I’m not going to do is just wait.”
That sounds to us very much like a threat. And if Obama follows through with it, he not only will engender the enmity of Republicans, he also guarantee over the next two years the political acrimony and legislative gridlock that are the inevitable consequences when the president and Congress find themselves at odds.