GOP senators are still waiting for Obama’s outreach

But after months of buildup and a week since his State of the Union address, key aides on the Hill and at the White House acknowledge that even GOP senators who fit Obama’s vision of bipartisanship — Sens. Mark Kirk of Illinois, Rob Portman of Ohio, Lamar Alexander of Tennessee and Tom Coburn of Oklahoma — are all waiting to hear anything from the president. …

Obama has to have legislative partners involved from the outset to give other Senate Republicans, and eventually their colleagues in the House, cover on passing immigration reform, gun control legislation and fiscal reforms to avoid the sequester. The same goes for getting the new universal preschool programs he promised last week, or even his longer-shot bid to get Congress to take action on climate change proposals. …

“I view this as a time to turn the page and take a fresh approach from both the White House and the congressional perspective and try to work together on these difficult political issues that have to be addressed,” said Portman, who’s seen as a potential partner on fiscal issues and is still waiting to hear from Obama. “Doing it at the level of our leadership and the president hasn’t worked.”

Obama’s shift to a permanent campaign, GOP senators and aides say, may help boost his case for the 2014 midterms, but it’s not helpful to making deals now.