Obama Claims Mandate from the Middle Class

Dream on, buddy

"I'm more than familiar with all the literature about presidential overreach in second terms. We are very cautious about that," President Obama told reporters Wednesday.

Still two months from the start of his second term, the president stressed again and again that he wants to work for the middle class, saying in his first full-scale news conference since the spring that his only mandate is to help them and stressing that the wealthy can easily pay more in taxes.

Mr. Obama said the American people sent him a message: "Work really hard to help us. Don't worry about the politics of it; don't worry about the party interests; don't worry about the special interests. Just work really hard to see if you can help us get ahead—because we're working really hard out here and we're still struggling, a lot of us."