Obama Calls New Leaders to White House: Americans 'Don't Want Us Engaged in Gridlock'

Nov. 4, 2010— -- President Obama today said he has invited Democratic and Republican leaders of the House and Senate to a meeting at the White House to find common ground and develop a new agenda going forward.

"I want us to talk substantively about how we can move the American people's agenda forward. It's not just going to be a photo op," the president said at the end of a meeting with his cabinet.

"We've got a lot of work to do. People are still catching their breaths from the election. The dust is still settling," Obama said. "The one thing I'm absolutely certain of is that the American people don't want us just standing still, and they don't want us engaged in gridlock. They want us to do the people's business, partly because they understand that the world is not standing still."

The meeting will be on Nov. 18, after the president returns from his overseas trip. It will include soon-to-be Speaker of the House John Boehner, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Majority Leader Harry Reid, and current House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

The president also invited newly elected governors for a meeting on Dec. 2.

"Sometimes things are a little less ideological when you get governors together because they've got very practical problems they've got to solve," he said.

Congress will be back in session next week to deal with unfinished business and to elect the new leadership for next year. Obama today reminded lawmakers about the work that remains to be done before the end of year.

He pushed the Senate to ratify the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) before the session ends. Hinting at bipartisan compromise -- which has been absent since the treaty was forged earlier this year -- Obama reminded Republicans of the treaty's importance to national security and that, "traditionally, this has received strong bipartisan support."

Congress will also have to act on Bush-era tax cuts, which are set to expire at the end of the year.

President Obama indicated for the first time Wednesday that he is willing to compromise on those tax cuts acknowledging that without GOP support, it would be hard to pass any legislation.

Republicans want the Bush-era tax cuts extended for all Americans; Obama and some Democrats have said such cuts should mainly benefit the middle class, not the wealthy.

"How that negotiation works itself out, I think it's too early to say," the president said at a news conference Wednesday. "But, you know, this is going to be one of my top priorities. And my hope is, is that, given we all have an interest in growing the economy and encouraging job growth, that we're not going to play brinksmanship, but instead we're going to act responsibly."

New challenges await both Republicans and Democrats as lawmakers gear up to form a new Congress that will dictate the national conversation on key issues such as jobs, taxes and the economy.

After a legislative session with little or sometimes virtually no bipartisan compromise, Democrats will need to join with their Republican counterparts to pass major legislation.

And it's not just the Democrats who will need to find middle ground.