App Snapshot: \'What Do We Do Now?\'

“What do we do now?” Robert Redford's character famously asked after winning his election in “The Candidate.” For President Obama and Congress, the answer to that is long and complicated. In the Election 2012 app, we've curated a list of forward-looking articles about the challenges ahead, both philosophical and practical:

GOVERNING
Question for the Victor: How Far Do You Push?
The next battle for President Obama is to decide what he wants to accomplish in a second term and how to go about it. (The New York Times)

• Winning a Second Term, Obama Will Confront Familiar Headwinds
  The generational shift President Obama embodied is under way, but it will not change Washington as quickly as voters once hoped. (The New York Times)
• Now That He's Won, the 6 Splitting Headaches W aiting for Obama
  Mr. Obama faces a second term that presents both immediate and longer-term challenges, some with deadlines that must be confronted in the seven weeks before New Year's Eve.
  (NBC Politics)
• Abroad, Obama's Victory Brings Demands for Attention
  World leaders are vying for favor as President Obama embarks on a second term with many major issues unresolved from the first. (The New York Times)

LAME DUCK SESSION
Though some lawmakers are on the way out, little happened during the election to change the dynamic as Congress confronts the so-called fiscal cliff.

• Fresh From Re-election, President Finds Himself on Edge of ‘Fiscal Cliff'
  President Obama returns from the campaign trail to face an epic year-end battle over taxes and spending. (The Washington Post)

Moving on to the lame duck… Speaker John Boehner will make a statement today at 3:30 on the fiscal cliff.

- Roll Call Politics (@rollcallpols) 7 Nov 12

• Fiscal Impasse Leads to Caution After Election
  Business leaders and investors warned that the focus would quickly shift from electoral politics to the looming fiscal uncertainty in Washington. (The New York Times)
• Reid Extends Olive Branch (Sort Of) to Boehner and McConnell Ahead of Lame Duck
  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid told a crowd of cheering Democrats that Republicans should learn from the political fallout caused by making their “No. 1 goal” to defeat the president “and not work to get legislation passed.” (The Hill)
• Boehner: G.O.P. House Majority Means ‘No Mandate' for Tax Hikes
  In a warning to Mr. Obama, House Speaker John A. Boehner said Tuesday night that the re-election of the House Republican majority means that there is “no mandate for raising tax rates” on the American people. (The Hill)