President-elect Barack Obama is the first sitting Senator elected to the White House since 1960. He will begin his Presidency with a base of power his party has not seen since the elections of 1964 and 1974-76, which resulted in sweeping changes enacted by Congress. This will provide unprecedented opportunities, but also great challenges in meeting the expectations of a Democratic coalition that has not controlled the White House, the Senate, and the House since 1993-94.

Notwithstanding having spent only four years in the Senate, President-elect Obama has more Washington experience than George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan, and Jimmy Carter, the four governors who assumed the office in the past 32 years. Unlike them, he will not bring to the White House a home-state “posse” that knows a lot about a state capital but not much about the Nation’s Capital. We expect that his Administration will have comparatively more Members of Congress and congressional staffers and fewer campaign staffers in senior policy making positions than more recent administrations. Moreover, his running mate has spent 34 years in the Senate, during which he has led two of its more important committees. Finally, with his selection of Representative Rahm Emanuel (D-IL) as Chief of Staff and Phil Schiliro as Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs, he will have by his side very experienced individuals with a deep understanding of the relationship between Congress and the Executive Branch. As a result, President-elect Obama may have a better opportunity to engage earlier and more effectively with the Congress and should have a much easier time smoothing relations with the federal bureaucracy. Given the likely central role of the Senate in shaping policy for the next two years, President-elect Obama’s four years observing its members, its rhythm, and its idiosyncratic ways may help him avoid the missteps that often throw off stride newly elected presidents.

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