Obama calls for bipartisanship in new Congress
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President Barack Obama on Saturday called for bipartisanship to solve America's problems and move the country forward as a new year begins.
"At the start of 2011, we're still just emerging from a once-in-a-lifetime recession that's taken a terrible toll on millions of families," Obama said in his weekly address, taped in Hawaii, where the president is spending the holidays with his family.
While the U.S. economy has been growing for quarters and shown signs of recovery in many sectors, the overall jobless rate remains high at nearly 10 percent.
Obama reiterated his commitment to "do everything I can to make sure our economy is growing, creating jobs, and strengthening our middle class."
However, Obama will face more constraint from Congress in moving his agenda forward as Republicans have gained a significant number of seats in November's midterm elections.
"In a few days, a new Congress will form, with one house controlled by Democrats, and one house controlled by Republicans -- who now have a shared responsibility to move this country forward," Obama said.
"I'm willing to work with anyone of either party who' s got a good idea and the commitment to see it through," the president said, "And we should all expect you to hold us accountable for our progress or our failure to deliver."
Crossing the party lines to cooperate with each other will not be easy for both Democrats and Republicans. The two parties do not have much common ground in dealing with the country's problems such as how to trim the federal deficit.
In addition, as the 2012 presidential campaign will begin to unfold in spring, both parties will have more incentive to emphasize their differences instead of consensus.
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