In Today's Times:
- President Obama is back to work at the White House after winning his re-election campaign. Jackie Calmes and Peter Baker write that Mr. Obama has begun trying to wrap up the unfinished business of his first term, phoning party leaders on Wednesday to nudge them toward a budget deal to avoid roughly $700 billion in automatic tax increases and across-the-board spending cuts that could damage the economic recovery. With his second term approaching, he will also be looking at ways to reshuffle his cabinet, as several high-profile members are set to depart.
- Representative Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin is returning to the House, where his elevated profile and position as chairman of the Budget Committee give him a central role in Republicans' negotiations with President Obama and Democrats. But Trip Gabriel writes that Mr. Ryan will face grumbling from some Republicans who believe his efforts to steer the party rightward cost them moder ate voters and the presidential election. As a potential presidential contender in 2016, Mr. Ryan's viability might hinge on whether the party wants to continue rightward or follow the more moderate direction of the country and its demographics.
- After the Supreme Court relaxed campaign finance rules in 2010, some wealthy donors poured millions of dollars into the most expensive election in history through outside spending groups known as “super PACs.†But Nicholas Confessore and Jess Bidgood tell how some megadonors, like Sheldon Adelson, the billionaire casino magnate, invested heavily in the election and emerged with few prizes.
- If the electorate of Prince William County, Va., looks like the electorate of the future, then Democrats hold a sizable advantage over Republicans. Michael D. Shear writes that Republicans' strategy of appealing mostly to white voters has run into a wall of demographics that include minorities, women and vote rs under age 40. Those groups helped Mr. Obama win Virginia, Colorado, Nevada and perhaps Florida.
- Republicans must also contend with a gender gap that was underscored by their Senate losses on election night in states like Missouri, Wisconsin and Connecticut. Jennifer Steinhauer explains how Republicans' stance on social issues affecting women, the poor and immigrants turned off female voters and cost the party some House seats as well.
Happening in Washington:
- Economic data expected today include international trade for September and weekly jobless claims at 8:30 a.m., followed at 10 by third-quarter mass layoffs and weekly mortgage rates.
- President Obama is taking it easy with one item on his schedule: the daily briefing.
