Washington: US President Barack Obama, the First Lady Michelle and their two daughters Malia and Sasha have arrived at the White House from his hometown of Chicago, a day after his historic re-election.
"It's a little chilly here. It's wintertime," Obama said when a reporter asked him "how do you feel" on his arrival at the White House on Wednesday.
However, he did not respond to the question "Do you feel you have a mandate?" asked by another reporter.
Besides the press pool and a handful of Secret Service agents, there were few other staffers waiting to welcome Obama to his home for another four years.
During the flight to Washington from Chicago, Air Force One Colonel Scott Turner and some crew members brought the President a sheet cake to congratulate him. As they posed for pictures, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said, a question dawned on the President. "There is somebody flying this plane, right?" he asked, according to a pool report.
Earlier in the day, Obama went to the campaign headquarters in Chicago before leaving the city.
Overnight and early Wednesday morning in Chicago, Obama telephoned the top Congressional leaders to talk about the legislative agenda for the remainder of the year.
"The President reiterated his commitment to finding bipartisan solutions to: reduce our deficit in a balanced way, cut taxes for middle class families and small businesses and create jobs," the White House said.
"The President said he believed that the American people sent a message in yesterday's election that leaders in both parties need to put aside their partisan interests and work with common purpose to put the interests of the American people and the American economy first," the White House said in its readout.
PTI
First Published: Thursday, November 08, 2012, 12:56