Dark clouds on Washington horizon: 'Obama is going to have to be negotiator-in-chief and socialiser-in-chief' When power is divided in Washington, as it is now between a Republican House, and a Democrat Senate and White House, ruling becomes the art of negotiation. Bill Clinton learnt to excel at all this during his battles with Newt Gingrich, refusing to blink when the then speaker threatened to shut down the government. They later co-operated to pass major welfare reform. President Ronald Reagan and Speaker Tip O'Neill were considered masters of the art of firm but gentlemanly bargain-making. For all his charisma, Mr Obama is however a stand-offish figure. When obliged to enter negotiations, he can show impatience towards those who can't see the sense of his point of view. Socially, he sticks to his family and a narrow circle of friends, and has little time for the fraternisation that is regarded as part of the job. Throughout his first term, Republicans and even fellow Democrats in Congress grumbled that the president rarely called, let alone had them over to the White House for a drink or dinner. Yet such schmoozing is regarded as vital to getting legislation done. "His social secretary will have to be a lot busier this time around," said a former official in the always humming Clinton White House. Obama is going to have to be negotiator-in-chief and socialiser-in-chief. In Mr Boehner, the president has a tough but clubbable partner: a drinker, smoker and fellow golfer at ease with Washingtonian customs. At the speaker's suggestion, the two men held a somewhat awkward "golf summit" in the summer of 2011, in an effort to break the ice when they were first trying to reach a deficit deal. But talks to save $800 million a year broke down late on, amid mutual accusations that both sides had pulled the plug. Now they have no choice but to try again. Fully aware of the urgency of the task, the two men spoke the morning after the election. Later on Wednesday, Mr Boehner said voters had given their leaders "a mandate to find solutions." Appearing before the cameras, he wore a purple tie, midway between the red and blue parties. "Mr President, this is your moment," he said, throwing down the gauntlet while extending an olive branch. We are ready to be led, not as Democrats or Republicans, but as Americans. The president of course has other domestic goals for the next four years. His legislative priority is immigration reform - an unfulfilled promise from his first term - that would give 10 or 11 million undocumented workers the right to stay in the US, while improving border security. Mr Obama has repeatedly said he wants to invest more in schools. He may need the help of Congress to tweak his health care reform as it is enacted fully. Measures to help small business, green energy and investment in infrastructure are issues all likely to come up. But all that will be largely irrelevant if the president and the speaker spend the next year wrangling about deficit reduction. David Axelrod, the president's chief campaign strategist, said last week: "Americans do not think compromise is a dirty word." Most of the public yearns for problem-solving, not bomb-throwing, among their leaders. Mr Obama was first elected in 2008 promising to change Washington. By his own admission, he has so far failed, but he still has a chance.