Politics: Meet Second-Term Obama

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Politics Meet Second-Term Obama He doesn't need to say he has a mandate. He just plans to act like he does. By John Dickerson Posted Thursday, Nov 15, 2012, at 02:09 PM ET There's a difference between saying you have a mandate and acting like you have one. In his first news conference since his re-election, President Obama took on bullies, scrooges, and unruly reporters. He batted away questions over the scandal that brought down Gen. David Petraeus, stood up for his U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice against attacks from Republican senators, and warned that if House Republicans didn't act on the question of tax cuts, the holidays would be ruined. In the hour-long news conference, Obama took a measured tone, but he clearly feels like he has the upper hand. "The American people understood what they were getting when they gave me this incredible privilege of being in office for another four years," he said. The least substantive but most dramatic moment in the East Room question-and-answer session came when the president took on Sens. John McCain and Lindsey Graham. Both men have pledged to block Susan Rice's nomination for secretary of state if Obama taps her to replace Hillary Clinton. Days after the attack in Libya that left four Americans dead, Rice went on the Sunday shows to say it was caused by a spontaneous protest. At the time, parts of the U.S. intelligence community supported this view, while other parts said it was a terrorist attack. (A third hybrid theory is that terrorists reacted to spontaneous protests in Egypt to launch the attack.) The president wasn't having any of it. He said his U.N ... To continue reading, click here. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES Also In Slate Meet Second-Term Obama The Real Romney Nintendo's New Console Will Change How You Watch Television	Advertisement
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