Casually describing sweeping Republican election gains as “a good night”
for the GOP, President Barack Obama promised on Wednesday to work with
the GOP to “take care of business” but offered to make few changes to
his priorities, principles, staff or style.
“There’s no doubt that Republicans had a good night,” the president said in his first press conference since Tuesday’s drubbing of Democrats. “It doesn’t make me mopey, it energizes me, because it means that this democracy’s working.”
Obama noted that he had reached out to key lawmakers by
telephone on Tuesday and Wednesday and would host McConnell and the
other Democratic and Republican leaders of the House and Senate on
Friday. And the president sketched out his plans for the looming
“lame-duck” session.
“On Keystone there’s an independent process” running throught the State Department, he said. “It’s moving forward, and I’m going to let that process play out.”:
On the prospects of reaching an agreement with Iran to ensure that the country does not develop nuclear weapons:
“It’s too early to say whether we are winning,” Obama said. But U.S.-led airstrikes on the extremist militia have left it “in a more vulnerable position and it is more difficult for them to maneuver than it was previously.”
“There’s no doubt that Republicans had a good night,” the president said in his first press conference since Tuesday’s drubbing of Democrats. “It doesn’t make me mopey, it energizes me, because it means that this democracy’s working.”
Brushing off Republican
warnings, Obama defiantly vowed to forge ahead with executive action on
immigration if Congress refuses to enact a comprehensive overhaul that
cleared the Democrat-held Senate but stalled in the Republican-led House
of Representatives.
“I have
no doubt that there will be some Republicans who are angered or
frustrated by any executive action that I may take,” he said. “My
executive actions not only do not prevent them from passing a law that
supersedes those actions, but should be a spur for them to actually try
to get something done.”
His
remarks came after Republican Senator Minority Leader Mitch McConnell,
virtually certain to lead the chamber when the next Congress convenes in
January, sharply cautioned Obama not to head down that path.
“It’s
like waving a red flag in front of a bull to say ‘if you guys don’t do
what I want, I’m going to do it on my own,’” the Kentucky lawmaker told
reporters.
He
confirmed that he was asking Congress for $6.2 billion to battle the
spread of Ebola in Africa and shore up America’s defenses against the
deadly disease. He revealed that he would ask lawmakers for an
authorization for the use of military force (AUMF) against the so-called
Islamic State, a stark reversal from his previous public insistence
that he did not need or want new legal authority.
“The
idea is to right-size and update whatever authorization Congress
provides to suit the current fight rather than previous fights,” he
said.
Obama pressed lawmakers
to approve spending legislation in a “bipartisan, drama-free way” to
keep the government open past the December expiration of current
funding.
The president cast the elections as a rejection of
dysfunction and gridlock in Washington rather than a resounding
repudiation of his policies.
“To everyone who voted, I
want you to know that I hear you. To the two-thirds of voters who chose
not to participate in the process yesterday, I hear you, too,” he said.
“The point is, it’s time for us to take care of business.”
But he
dismissed calls for changes to his inner circle or approach to key
issues as “premature” and warned of coming battles with congressional
Republicans.
“Congress will
pass some bills I cannot sign. I’m pretty sure I’ll take some actions
that some in Congress will not like. That’s natural,” he said.
Over
the course of the 70-minute question-and-answer session, Obama tackled
some of the most pressing political issues in the aftermath of the
elections and sketched out the upcoming White House course.
On possible outreach to McConnell and Republican House Speaker John Boehner:
“I’m going to try different things, whether it’s having a drink with Mitch McConnell or letting John Boehner beat me again at golf,”
he said. Boehner, known to be a better golfer than the president,
teamed up with Obama in 2011 to beat a team of Vice President Joe Biden
and Ohio’s Republican governor, John Kasich.
“I
would enjoy having some Kentucky bourbon with Mitch McConnell. I don’t
know what his preferred drink is,” he said. McConnell told Yahoo News in
2013 that he enjoys his bourbon in Manhattans.
On potential Republican efforts to change Obamacare or even repeal it.
“Repeal
of the law I won’t sign,” he said. Repealing the individual mandate “is
a line I can’t cross” because it would cause the law to collapse.
But
if Republicans want to change the law “to make it work better, I’m
going to be very open and receptive to hearing those ideas.”
“Traditionally
after the last midterm of a two-term presidency, since I can’t run
again, that’s the label that -- that you guys apply,” he said.
On approving the Keystone XL pipeline:“On Keystone there’s an independent process” running throught the State Department, he said. “It’s moving forward, and I’m going to let that process play out.”:
On the prospects of reaching an agreement with Iran to ensure that the country does not develop nuclear weapons:
“Whether we can actually
get a deal done, we’re going to have to find out over the next three to
four weeks,” before a Nov. 24 deadline for the talks to succeed, he
said.
On whether the United States is winning the military campaign against the Islamic State:“It’s too early to say whether we are winning,” Obama said. But U.S.-led airstrikes on the extremist militia have left it “in a more vulnerable position and it is more difficult for them to maneuver than it was previously.”
On whether he was upset that Democrats did not want to be seen with him on the 2014 campaign trail:
“I
love campaigning. I love talking to ordinary people. I love listening
to their stories. I love shaking hands and getting hugs and — and just seeing the process of democracy and citizenship manifest itself during an election. But I’m also a practical guy.”
In
the sixth year of a presidency, Obama said, “you’ve seen a lot of ups
and downs and you’ve gotten more than your fair share of attention.”
“I’ve
had the limelight, and there have been times where the request for my
appearances were endless. There have been times where politically we
were down. And it all kind of evens out,” he said. “Which is why what’s
most important, I think, is keeping your eye on the ball. And that is,
are you actually getting some good done?