President Obama “seems resigned to the reality that big chunks of his second-term agenda will die without Nancy Pelosi holding the speaker’s gavel,” Roll Call reports.

“In remarks at two fundraisers for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee on Wednesday night, Obama said he still hopes to achieve bipartisan action on an immigration overhaul, guns and the budget… But he balanced that with an acknowledgement that much of his agenda isn’t going anywhere as long as Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) runs the House.”

The Fix: “By taking a voluntary cut in his own pay — no matter the size or amount — President Obama is forcing the sequester back into the news and back to the top of peoples’ minds, at least for a day or two.”

“And, what he is clearly hoping is that other Administration figures and other elected officials take his cue to forego some salary and, in so doing, keep the story in the news — ratcheting up the pressure on those (mostly Republicans) who are just fine with keeping the sequester in place.”

“Making a down payment on his vow to go all in for Democrats in 2014,
President Barack Obama is courting well-heeled donors in California on a
two-day fundraising jaunt that requires the president to walk a fine
line: Berate Republicans too much, and Obama could put fragile prospects
for achieving his second-term goals in jeopardy,” the AP writes.

First Read: “If it had its druthers, we’re guessing the White House would have preferred to hold off on some fundraising for a bit. But there’s another reason why Obama agreed to these early funders. The president had his own intra-party politics to worry about which. Some House and Senate Dems are nervous the president is more focused on raising money for Organizing for Action rather than help the party, so this is an attempt to quiet down those critiques. Also, the Obama campaign gave the DCCC and DSCC virtually no financial help in 2012, and the folks on Capitol Hill noticed. Today, Obama remains in California, where he hits two more fundraisers — this time for the Democratic National Committee.”

“My intention here is to try to get as much done with the Republican
Party over the next two years as I can, ’cause we can’t have perpetual
campaigns.”

— President Obama, quoted by Reuters.