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As he moves into his second term, President Obama says he鈥檚 going to spend more time communicating directly with the American people 鈥� something he acknowledges having done too little of during his first term 鈥� while working to present his administration and most congressional Democrats as willing to compromise on important issues.

鈥淚've been spending a lot of time just thinking about how do I communicate more effectively with the American people?鈥� Mr. Obama said in an interview with the New Republic magazine. 鈥淗ow do I try to bridge some of the divides that are longstanding in our culture? How do I project a sense of confidence in our future at a time when people are feeling anxious?鈥�

Obama acknowledges that Democrats have 鈥済ot a lot of warts, and some of the bad habits here in Washington when it comes to lobbyists and money and access鈥︹��

鈥淏ut when it comes to certain positions on issues, when it comes to trying to do what's best for the country, when it comes to really trying to make decisions based on fact as opposed to ideology, when it comes to being willing to compromise, the Democrats, not just here in this White House, but I would say in Congress also, have shown themselves consistently to be willing to do tough things even when it's not convenient, because it's the right thing to do,鈥� he continued. 鈥淎nd we haven't seen that same kind of attitude on the other side.鈥�

That鈥檚 certainly not the perception of leading Republicans in Congress, particularly in the wake of an inauguration speech in which Obama was loud and clear on such favorite liberal themes as gun control, gay rights, and climate change.

鈥淲hen you saw his speech, say, at the inauguration, it leads us to conclude that he鈥檚 not looking to be moderate, that he鈥檚 not looking to move to the middle,鈥� Rep. Paul Ryan said on NBC鈥檚 鈥�Meet the Press鈥� Sunday. 鈥淗e鈥檚 looking to go farther to the left, and he wants to fight us every step of the way politically.鈥�

"All of [Obama鈥檚] statements and all of the comments lead me to believe that he's thinking more of a political conquest than a political compromise,鈥� Ryan said, echoing House Speaker John Boehner鈥檚 recent comment that Obama wanted to 鈥渁nnihilate鈥� the GOP. He also gave a back-handed compliment to Hillary Clinton, the retiring Secretary of State who 鈥� very conceivably 鈥� could face off against Ryan in a run for the presidency in 2016.

鈥淚f we had a Clinton presidency, if we had Erskin Bowles chief of staff of the White House, or president of the United States, I think we would鈥檝e fixed this fiscal mess by now,鈥� Ryan said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 not the kind of presidency we鈥檙e dealing with right now.鈥�

Like Obama, Ryan acknowledged his party鈥檚 need to attract a wider range of voters by communicating in a way that addresses peoples鈥� personal needs and concerns.

鈥淲e have to expand our appeal to more people and show how we鈥檒l take the country鈥檚 founding principles and apply them to the problems of the day to offer solutions to fix our problems,鈥澛爃e said. 鈥淲e have to show our ideas are better at fighting poverty. How our ideas are better at solving health care. How our ideas are better at solving the problems people are experiencing in their daily lives and that鈥檚 a challenge we have to rise to, and I think we鈥檙e up for it.鈥�

Ryan hinted at one controversial issue on which he might agree with Obama: The need for stricter regulations on gun registration, including background checks.

鈥淭he question of whether or not a criminal is getting a gun is a question we need to look at,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e need to look into making sure there aren鈥檛 big loopholes where a person can illegally purchase a firearm.鈥�

On guns, Obama pointed to the differences in perception in Democrat-leaning urban areas and rural areas more likely to vote Republican 鈥� something he said his party often fails to do.

鈥淚 have a profound respect for the traditions of hunting that trace back in this country for generations. And I think those who dismiss that out of hand make a big mistake,鈥� he told the New Republic.

鈥淧art of being able to move this forward is understanding the reality of guns in urban areas are very different from the realities of guns in rural areas. And if you grew up and your dad gave you a hunting rifle when you were ten, and you went out and spent the day with him and your uncles, and that became part of your family's traditions, you can see why you'd be pretty protective of that,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o it's trying to bridge those gaps that I think is going to be part of the biggest task over the next several months. And that means that advocates of gun control have to do a little more listening than they do sometimes.鈥�