In his final two years in office, Obama will face a Republican Congress

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1 Article of the Week #05 Date: Period: Directions: 1. READ - Read the article. 2. WORD AWARENESS - Highlight or circle at least 5 words or phrases that you don t know. Write the definitions in the margins. 3. ANNOTATE - Write at least 5 questions or comments in the margins Answer the questions at the end. 5. REFLECT and WRITE Write a two-paragraph reflection Due Date: In his final two years in office, Obama will face a Republican Congress By McClatchy Washington Bureau, adapted by Newsela staff; Source: President Barack Obama arrives to a news conference in the East Room of the White House, Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2014, in Washington, D.C. One day after sweeping Republican election gains, President Obama and incoming Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell pledged to try and turn divided government into a force for good rather than gridlock on Wednesday, yet warned of veto showdowns as well. Photo: AP Photo/Evan Vucci

2 WASHINGTON Tuesday's elections mean that President Barack Obama will be weaker in his final two years in office. Almost every president who is elected for two terms loses a lot of power at this point. But on Tuesday, the Republican Party, which already controlled the House of Representatives, won a majority of seats in the Senate. The two groups are a part of the legislative branch of the government. They work together to help pass laws. Sometimes they work against each other to prevent laws from being passed. And they can work with, or against, the president. Experts predict that the two political parties will have to compromise if they want to accomplish anything important in the next two years. The Republican victory, though, will make it even harder for Obama, a Democrat, to deal with a tough set of challenges. Fighting Extremists And Ebola The range of urgent issues is overwhelming. The U.S. economy is growing, but wages are not rising and businesses around the world are struggling. The extremist group Islamic State has taken over parts of Iraq and Syria, even as the U.S. uses airstrikes

3 to bomb them. The deadly Ebola virus in the United States has scared voters. It also raised questions about whether the White House can handle several dangers at once Next week, Obama will head to Asia and Australia for meetings. Meanwhile, the old Congress will return to Washington to finish its work in a lame-duck session. A lame duck is an office holder who won't be returning to office after the new year. Obama is considered a lame duck because he can't run for president again. The Republican-led Congress will start its new session in January. Obama will not compromise with Congress on one matter. On Tuesday, government officials said Obama would sign an executive order to help some of the 11 million immigrants who are in the country illegally. Under the order, they will be able stay and work in the U.S at least for now. Obama had delayed signing the order earlier this fall. Democrats had feared the order would not be popular and people would not vote for them. Will Important New Laws Get Passed? Republican Representative Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said that he and Obama have "to work together on issues on

4 which we agree. McConnell, who is likely to be the next Senate majority leader, won re-election Tuesday But, he added, "I don t expect the president to wake up tomorrow morning and view the world any differently. He knows I won t, either." Ken Mayer is a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He said that Obama and the Republicans have shown no real interest in compromising. Something pretty unusual would have to happen in order to get them to get along. Mayer, who studies the presidency, said he doubted there will be any important new laws passed during Obama's last two years in office. Meanwhile, much of Washington and the political world is ignoring Obama and starting to look at who will be the next president. Obama will become yesterday s news as soon as the 2016 presidential race begins, said New Hampshire State Senator Lou D Allesandro. He is a Democrat. D'Allesandro expects that president won't be able to do much in his last two years, because Republicans will stand in Obama's way.

5 Both Sides Seen As Unpopular Obama enters the final months of his term with low approval ratings. Unhappy with Obama, many people who formerly voted Democrat voted for Republican candidates. But if he s unpopular, so are Republicans. Vice President Joe Biden argued, perhaps hopefully, that Republicans in Congress will need to compromise with Obama if they want anything to brag about in the 2016 elections. We know what we have to get done the last two years, Biden said. The White House is ready to compromise." Biden said he thinks the Republicans might also be willing because the message from the people, and I m getting it all over the country, is they re tired of Washington not being able to do anything. Although he may feel lonely, Obama isn t alone in what he faces. The last three presidents to serve two terms Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush spent their last two years in office with the opposing party controlling Congress. People who worked for them say a lameduck president can still accomplish things.

6 Where They May Compromise Obama and Republicans in Congress both want to show voters they can still be effective, said William Galston. He is a former adviser to Clinton, a Democrat. President Obama, like any president, wants to finish strong and leave" his mark on history, Galston said. Since the Republicans are not very popular either, they have good reason "to show they can do business. Obama has to figure out ways to work with Congress if he wants to do anything meaningful in his last two years, said Ken Duberstein. He served as the chief of staff for Reagan, a Republican. There are areas where the two sides could compromise. These include trade with other countries, taxes, immigration changes and improvements to the nation s highways and railroads. There are ways to bridge the differences, Duberstein said. I think there is a fork in the road."

7 Questions: 1. Why is President Obama considered a weaker president after the elections? a. The Democrats won control of Congress. b. The Republicans won control of Congress. c. The voters elected to give some of the presidential power to Congress. d. His policies are mostly complete. 2. What issue is Obama unwilling to compromise with Congress? a. minimum wage b. military policies c. immigration d. campaign finance reform 3. Why is much of the political world starting to ignore Obama? a. They are interested in who will become the next president. b. They disagree with his health care policies. c. They believe that he needs to compromise with Congress 4. What political party is President Obama a member of? 5. How did the Ebola virus affect the election?

8 WRITE A SUMMARY PARAGRAPH In the first paragraph, write a summary of the article of at least 5 sentences. Summary What does the article talk about? WRITE A REFLECTION PARAGRAPH In the second paragraph write a reflection of at least 5 sentences. Reflect on your reactions and opinions to the article. What does the article remind you of? Do you agree with something in the article? Do you disagree? Keep your reflection focused on this article. You may use additional paper, if needed. Response/Reflection What are your reactions to this article?