Unlike some of his Republican brethren who rode the Tea Party Express to Senate victories, Mark Kirk is already talking about working with the president and not against him.
"Sometimes we might forget that once the people have spoken, we come together as a country and we work with other members of Congress --- and the president -- to bring higher jobs and income to the state," Senator-elect Kirk said during a stop at Ogilvy Transportation Center Wednesday morning.
It was an important line that Kirk said with emphasis, and it may signal a difficult path for him, going forward.
Just last week Republican Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell said the No. 1 job for Republicans is to make sure that Obama is a one-term president. John Boehner, who will become Speaker of the House, said "this is not a time for compromise."
Kirk appears to disagree. His first move as Senator-elect from Illinois is to extend an olive branch to his opponent Alexi Giannoulias, and have a beer at the Billy Goat Tavern in Chicago, an event that he says will send a message of compromise and collaboration.
"Now we get to work," Kirk said this morning standing next to his replacement, Robert Dold. "The people have spoken, but now we pull together."
