New Obama era

President Obama’s decision to endorse a two-year pay freeze for civilian federal workers is highly significant.

This is not because of the money it would save; $2 billion a year is not trivial but would put only a tiny dent in the federal deficit. But politically, Obama’s move is huge.

{mosads}In the wake of the “shellacking” his party received on Election Day, the president is changing the way he governs, at least in its appearance. 

His move to embrace a salary freeze did not sit well with public-sector labor unions, but it was generally praised by Republicans, who noted that they called for it first. 

There will be other areas where Obama seeks to compromise with Republicans, or to co-opt their policies, such as on energy and trade.

Those offers will spark criticism from the Democrats’ liberal base. The White House has indicated its frustration with the “professional left.”

Congressional Democrats passed the stimulus package with only a few Republican votes, and their healthcare bill didn’t attract any. Obama has recently acknowledged that he could have done more to foster bipartisanship in the 111th Congress.

He is attempting to do so now and has the opportunity to take the lead on writing legislation, which he mostly left to Democrats on Capitol Hill since arriving in office in January 2009.

In an interview with The Hill this summer, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said the president doesn’t call him that much, but predicted that this would change in 2011. McConnell didn’t blame Obama, noting he had the numbers to jam legislation through Congress.

McConnell will have a bolstered Senate minority next year, and the president has an opportunity to make progress on his pledge to change the tone of Washington.

The large majorities Democrats had actually hampered Obama’s pledge to bring about more bipartisanship. With a divided government, the White House might be able to work from the middle while criticizing both the right and the left.

That strategy will test Obama’s relationship with outgoing Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). Still, the president clearly needs to change the political dynamic if he is going to win a second term in the Oval Office.

He needs something new to talk about, other than healthcare and the economic stimulus. Obama lost those debates on the campaign trail and now has to sign laws that will improve the ailing economy and lower the nation’s unemployment rate.

In 2008, Obama and his advisers ran a masterful campaign. Some critics have said they’ve lost their touch. If the decision to freeze federal spending is an indication of what is to come, Obama may prove his critics wrong.