THE DAILY WHIP: TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2012

“With President Obama re-elected and Democrats cementing control of the Senate, Mr. Boehner will need to capitalize on the chastened faction of the House G.O.P. that wants to cut a deal to avert sudden tax increases and across-the-board spending cuts in January that could send the economy back into recession. After spending two years marooned between the will of his loud and fractious members and the Democratic Senate majority, the speaker is trying to assert control, and many members seem to be offering support. ‘To have a voice at the bargaining table, John Boehner has to be strong,’ said Representative Tom Cole of Oklahoma, one of the speaker’s lieutenants. ‘Most members were just taught a lesson that you’re not going to get everything that you want. It was that kind of election.’ Aides say this is an altered political landscape that Mr. Boehner did not expect. As a result, whether the nation can avoid the so-called fiscal cliff will depend not only on whether Mr. Boehner can find common cause with a newly re-elected, invigorated president, but also whether he can deliver his own caucus… ‘The election was a wake-up call,’ said one veteran Republican in the House.”

-     New York Times, 11/10/12