After 'Shellacking,' Obama Discusses Mood, Future

The morning after Democrats received what President Obama calls a "shellacking" Tuesday that cost them control of the House, the president held a wide-ranging news conference about the midterm elections.

He took questions from reporters on subjects ranging from whether or not he "gets it" to how to help businesses start hiring.You can read a full description of the talk at our It's All Politics blog, but here are the high points:

On healthcare: Americans don't want to revisit that debate for the next 2 years.

On greenhouse gases: Cap-and-trade may be history; just "one way of skinning that cat."

On taxes: "Absolutely" willing to negotiate on how Bush-era tax cuts might be extended.

On Tuesday's results: "It feels bad" to see people lose who worked on his agenda.

On working with Republicans: "I do believe there's hope for civility."

On voters' mood: "They're deeply frustrated — with the pace of our economic recovery."

On his mood: "I'm doing a whole lot of reflecting."