“He doesn’t feel constrained anymore,” said Steve Elmendorf, the prominent Democratic lobbyist and veteran of Capitol Hill. “I think he felt constrained before the election, a little too constrained, to protect vulnerable senators. Now he has a little more breathing room.”
A former senior administration official said that a more confident Obama has emerged since the midterm dustup: the one who hates to lose. While political pundits and others in the Beltway have been portraying him as a lame duck, Obama has fought back against that notion, the official said.
“The most remarkable trait of Barack Obama is that he’s always had a confidence about him regardless of political wins or what pundits are saying,” the former official said.
“Throughout his presidency, even in the lowest moments when everyone was piling on, he’s always had this sense that ultimately he’s going to be vindicated and I think these events certainly helped.”
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