Obama back in Washington, big challenges ahead
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U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday went back to Washington from his two-week getaway in Hawaii, facing a new Republican-controlled Congress and plenty of headaches.
Obama's plane touched down in Andrews Airforce Base outside Washington D.C. late Tuesday morning. Onboard the Air Force One, he said he hopes incoming House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell "realize that there will be plenty of time to campaign for 2012 in 2012," and build on lame-duck success to build the economy and create jobs.
According to the White House, Obama told reporters accompanying him on the plane that "there's gonna be politics" in Washington in the new year, and he expects Republicans to "play to their base for a certain period of time."
"Our job this year is to make sure that we build on recovery," he said. "We started making good progress on that in the lame-duck, and I expect to build on that progress when I get back."
After the Democrats were trumped by the Republicans in the mid- term elections, losing control of the House of Representatives, Obama marked the year-end with impressive victories as he got nearly everything he asked for in the lame-duck session of the Congress, which saw a burst of achievements as it drew to a close.
"We are not doomed to endless gridlock," said Obama before he left for vacation. "This has been the most productive post- election period we've had in decades."
But victories in the lame-duck session doesn't mean an equally smooth ride for Obama this year, when the Republicans took over the House. House Republicans have vowed to roll back spending on hundreds of federal programs to 2008 levels. Republicans have also indicated they will try and repeal the healthcare reform.
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