WASHINGTON — The day after the American electorate handed over congressional power to the Grand Old Party, a nervous buzz permeated throughout the East Room.
Even veteran reporters in the front row shuffled their feet, wiped their brows and cleared their throats, perhaps more so than usual.
Minutes prior to the president’s arrival, they were shouting over each other in their live shots to give viewers a taste of what was to come. Reaction to the disaster for the Democrats? Combat or cooperation? A powerless president?
As the President Barack Obama strode in, some of us in the room held our breaths, searching for clues about his mood.
“I missed you guys,” Obama later joked, flashing a rare smile. He had not held such a news conference in a long time.
With two years left in his term, the president said he is void of political motivations and vowed to do what is best for the American people.
After a quick and humble opening speech, Obama stood solemnly at his podium, spending a majority of his time answering reporters’ questions.
They ranged from courteous to harshly critical. All were aware of the hit the president’s party took Tuesday night, and at first there seemed to be some sympathy with the drubbing his party took. The tone soon changed.
Obama was asked what he could and should have done differently in the last six years. He was asked why, as a newly-elected president, he had promised to work across the aisle but had met with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell so few times. And he was asked his thoughts on why Democratic candidates had so distanced themselves from him on the campaign trail.
“I still believe that we are more than simply a collection of red and blue states,” Obama said, addressing a sea of lights and his curious listeners. But his conciliatory attitude is yet to be tested in looming battles on Capitol Hill where Republicans will control both houses of Congress, beginning in January.
But even those reporters who asked the most pointed questions did not forget to snap a close-up of the contemplative president.
After an almost 90-minute news conference, Obama took one more question, then hastened away, leaving flocks of reporters who were shepherded out through the grand entrance of the White House. Though some tried to linger, security personnel barked at those of us trying to absorb the once-in-a-lifetime moment. Every glance, every move, every whisper was being watched.