The election results are in: President Barack Obama has political capital, and he intends to spend it. That was the essence of the president's message, delivered Friday afternoon during brief remarks made the East Room of the White House.

“In fact, the Senate has already passed a bill that will do just this,” Obama said. “What we need is action from the House. And I’ve got the pen -- ready to sign the bill right away.” He reached into his pocket, and drew a handsome black pen that he held up for the cameras. “I’m ready to do it,” he said. (Video is at the end of this article.)

Although House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, has made conciliatory noises concerning the need to raise revenue, he also said, in an interview on Thursday with ABC News, that any tax-rate increase on anybody -- including the wealthiest two percent of Americans -- is “unacceptable.”