Washington:
A subdued US President Barack Obama acknowledged the drubbing his party took at the polls on Tuesday night, promising to "work harder" to build consensus and admitting that Tuesday had been a long night for him.
"Some election nights are more fun than others," he told reporters in the East Room of the White House. "Some are exhilarating. Some are humbling."
He said he has "got to take direct responsibility" for the failure of the country to make as much progress as needed in repairing the nation's economic fortunes.
But in his opening remarks and answers to early questions, Mr Obama refused to say the Republican wave that swept across the country was a fundamental rejection of the policies that his administration has pursued.
"There is no doubt that people's number one concern is the economy," he said. "What they were expressing great frustration about is that we haven't made enough progress on the economy."
The president repeatedly said he wants to work with the newly empowered Republicans in Washington. But he also said more than once that there are some principles that both parties are going to be unwilling to compromise on.
Like other presidents before him, Mr Obama faced questions about the fate of his policy agenda in the wake of significant losses after his first two years in office.
Mr Obama said he was doing a lot of "reflecting" on that agenda. Among those reflections, he said, was his conclusion that people came to believe government had become far too intrusive in their lives.
He defended his agenda as an emergency response rather than a well-planned desire to expand government. But he conceded that people didn't see his response to those emergencies as temporary measures but rather as a new approach to government.
Asked about Republican plans to try and repeal his health care legislation, Mr Obama said he was willing to consider "tweaks" to the program but does not intend to engage in a broad debate over its fate.
"We'd be misreading the election if we thought that the American people want to see us for the next two years re-litigate the arguments that we had for the last two years," Mr Obama said.
Specifically, he said that Republicans should bring their ideas for changing the health care legislation. As one example, the president said there is room for discussion about changing a provision that small businesses find burdensome.
But like he did during the campaign, Mr Obama challenged Republicans to support or oppose the popular provisions of the legislation, such as ending the practice of denying health insurance to those with pre-existing conditions.
Mr Obama was also asked about the Republican demands for limits on spending. He said he was looking forward to finding some agreement on proposals to rein in the federal deficit and debt.
"The question is do we all come to the table with an open mind?" Mr Obama said. "My hope is an expectation is that's something they are willing to have a serious conversation about."
Mr Obama all-but threw in the towel on getting comprehensive climate change legislation in the wake of the Republican surge in Congress after Tuesday's election.
Asked for areas of compromise, Mr Obama said flatly that it is "doubtful" such legislation could pass in the Congress for the remainder of his term. He made it clear he has no plans to pursue what he has said in the past was going to be a part of his presidential legacy.
But Mr Obama appears to want to seek a scaled-back approach to energy legislation, saying that the new political reality "doesn't mean there isn't agreement that we should have a better energy policy. Let's find those areas where we could agree."
The president offered some personal reflection on Tuesday's losses, saying that the campaign result "feels bad" because of the loss off friends who supported him and his policies during the past two years.
"The toughest thing over the last couple of days is seeing real terrific public servants not having the opportunity to serve any more," Mr Obama said.
In unusually personal terms, Mr Obama said how much he admired Democratic lawmakers who came from conservative districts but nonetheless cast tough votes that Mr Obama asked them to take.
"The amount of courage that they showed and conviction that they showed is something that I admire so much," the president said. "There's not only sadness about seeing them go, but also a lot of questioning on my part in terms of could I have done something differently or done something more so that they were still here."
Mr Obama acknowledged that he has to push a "reset button" with businesses in America, who he said believe that they have been treated unfairly.
He said that, upon reflection, businesses have drawn the conclusion from his policies that they are "the bad guys" and he accepted responsibility for managing that message poorly.
He said that going forward he will need to make "absolutely clear that the only way America succeeds is if businesses are succeeding."
As he concluded the news conference, Mr Obama said the "shellacking" he received by the voters on Tuesday made him realize how important it is for a president to get out of the "bubble" of the White House.
"When you're in this place, it is hard not to seem removed," he said.
"How do I meet my responsibilities here, in the White House, which requires a lot of hours and a lot of work, but still have that opportunity to engage with the American people on a daily basis?"