Aides: Obama to prove he's a different kind of Democrat

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/13/AR2010111303260.html

'Soul-searching' Obama aides: Democrats' midterm election losses a wake-up call
By Anne E. Kornblut

After nearly two weeks of introspection, President Obama's top advisers have concluded that the "shellacking" Democrats took on Election Day was caused in large part by their own failure to live up to expectations set during the 2008 campaign, not merely the typical political cycles and poor messaging they pointed to at first...

The advisers are deeply concerned about winning back political independents, who supported Obama two years ago by an eight-point margin but backed Republicans for the House this year by 19 points. To do so, they think he must forge partnerships with Republicans on key issues and make noticeable progress on his oft-repeated campaign pledge to change the ways of Washington...

Advisers also said it will probably take months, if not longer, to develop a strategy for restoring some of the early promise of the Obama presidency, particularly the notion that he was a different kind of Democrat.

In a nod to that ambition, his weekly address Saturday focused on earmark reform, one way, Obama said, of "restoring public trust." Republican leaders in the House are preparing a vote on earmark bans next week, although in their own address Saturday they made no mention of working with the president on the issue...