Obama should read this comment by Harold Ford carefully.

This is a transcript of Harold Ford on Meet the Press today:

REP. FORD:  …The question is whether or not people believe Republicans can lead us in a different and better direction.  I think the president–there’s a lot to be said about what they didn’t have and how they could have had a tighter message, and I’m in that camp.  Yet, I think one of the things he’s been able to achieve is to get out and remind Democrats why they elected him, what he represents, and that he’s still president, and that he needs the help of some Democrats, not tea partiers, not those way outside of the mainstream on the Republican side.

Now, the bigger question is, what happens after this election?

Assume Democrats hold narrow majorities in both, and there’s a chance we absolutely could.  The likelihood is we won’t, but the chance is we could.  I think the president and Democrats are going to have to take a very, very different approach than they have up to this point.  They’re going to have to be willing for more reconciliation with the other side.  They’re going to have to be more focused on growth and jobs, and there might even have to be some admissions about mistakes that were made.  Because one thing is clear:  Even if we hold, the approach has not been the right approach over the last two years.  The goals have been laudable and the right ones, but the approach certainly deserves some tinkering, if not major reshaping.