Since Tuesday saw the Republicans claim majority power in both houses of Congress, President Obama has generally sounded a conciliatory note, saying that the takeaway from the election is that Americans want their politicians to "work as hard as they do." But five months ago, Obama had a different tone:
[In June, several Democratic senators] demanded to know how committed Obama was to fighting for the Senate majority. Obama was known as a fierce competitor when his name was on the ballot, not so much when it was not.
"I don't really care to be president without the Senate," Obama said, according to attendees, signaling that he knew the health care debacle created resentment among Democrats and that he wanted to make amends. [Politico]
The senator who led that questioning of Obama, Mark Begich of Alaska, has since likely lost his re-election campaign, though he refuses to concede.
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