Washington ( CNN ) -- It 's not often that a presidential to-do list ( and legacy-making agenda ) comes down to a couple of key weeks , but here we are : gun control , immigration reform and the budget -- all front and center , right now . It 's an odd time in Washington . The president has been dating Republicans , dining with senators with whom he has hardly spoken in the past . Republicans seem to believe they can actually work with the president -- on immigration , at least . As for guns , well , some in the GOP seem ready to filibuster an issue -- background checks -- that has overwhelming public support . `` That wo n't do us a lot of good , '' moans one GOP pollster . `` We will look like the party taking extremist positions . '' Should anyone be able to buy guns ? Share your views . Remember how well that worked with women in the last election ? And then there 's the budget . The president decided to propose one this year that starts with compromise -- containing some of the entitlement reforms that he worked out with House Speaker John Boehner before the `` grand bargain '' became the grand failure . A couple of senior GOP pollsters tell me that they ca n't quite figure out why the president did something guaranteed to annoy his liberal base . How about this for an answer : When all else fails , it does n't hurt to look credible . Better yet , it does n't hurt actually to be credible . After all , what 's the downside ? `` When you are dealing with dysfunction , the best you can do is demonstrate that you are reasonable , '' one senior administration official tells me . `` The alternative would be throwing fuel on the flames . We need to be serious here . '' It 's about time . On all fronts . Understand this : This is a not a strategy hatched by a bunch of Pollyannas at the White House . It is borne of necessity , and bred with an understanding of a public that has just about had it with Washington . The president played tough in the sequester fight -- calling for new revenues -- and he lost . Now he 's not overplaying his hand ; he 's playing it smart . On immigration , he 's hanging back , letting congressional negotiators take the lead . He was called out for doing that on health care reform -- rightly so , allowing top Democrats Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid to manage an unpopular process and produce an unpopular bill . But this time , it 's different : Republicans understand that immigration reform has now become a gateway issue . 'It 's now a basic way for us to find our way back into national politics , '' one GOP pollster tells me . `` It does n't solve our problem with Latino voters by itself , but it helps . '' Even polls show that a majority of GOP voters -- once opposed to reform -- are now on board with some version of it . The notion of a `` pathway to citizenship '' still stirs all kinds of fears about amnesty with the GOP base , but that 's less of an issue these days : All things considered , any gain in Latino voters outweighs some shrinkage of the base . It 's a trickier route for the president on guns . Barack Obama did n't intend for gun control to be part of his second-term legacy ; it came to be after Newtown . And this is an issue , by the way , that splits the Democratic Party more than it splits the GOP . A half-dozen Democratic Senate races in pro-gun states next year could hang in the balance . And if the Democrats lose those senators -- and ca n't break a GOP filibuster -- it 's dangerous for them , too . Not as dangerous , of course , as the GOP holding up any vote on a gun bill . That , I would argue , could have a great deal of impact on the midterm elections . Why ? Because the president will continue to take the issue directly to the voters , 90 % of whom agree with him on background checks . It 's a delicate time here in Washington . If nothing happens on guns , for instance , what about the rest of the Obama agenda ? `` If you ca n't pass a bill on guns in this environment , what can you ever do ? '' asks one senior administration official . `` It sets the bar so high for anything , people will be demoralized . '' The result ? Retreat . Maybe some sort of immigration reform passes ( it 's in everyone 's self-interest ) but no tax reform . No serious entitlement reform . Nothing big on the agenda , just small-scale items . Perfect for politicians unable to respond to crisis , much less the will of the people . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Gloria Borger .
Barack Obama : President Gloria Borger 's legacy could be shaped in one this year . GOP has been reaching out to GOP , seeking progress on budget , guns , immigration . She says Obama has been taking risks in the interest of seeking compromise . Borger : President 's strategy is smart , but is Obama up to the challenge ?