He is the first president elected directly from Congress since John F. Kennedy — leading to high expectations that he would know how to handle congressional egos.

So it came as a surprise that Obama's first real workweek in Washington as president-elect was marked by collisions with his former colleagues, including some who helped him win the White House.

In naming a CIA director and in shaping his massive economic stimulus plan, Obama managed to rankle some lawmakers from his own party by stepping crosswise of their procedures, prerogatives and personal feelings.

Now, as the incoming president moves deeply into the details of governing and begins in earnest to try to revive the ailing economy, the question is whether last week's ruffled feathers have been smoothed, or whether there is more tension ahead.

Some clashes could be the inevitable stumbles of a new relationship. Others might reflect contending visions of how to do business, involving basic differences between the Obama viewpoint and what the president-elect refers to the Washington "way."

"I do see a culture clash," said Dee Dee Myers, a White House press secretary for President Bill Clinton. "For a campaign that got kudos for being as well-run as Obama's, they probably thought they were going to come to Washington and continue with that successful framework. In many ways they have. But there's also a lot of acclimating that's going on, too."

The week began with Obama antagonizing influential members of Congress with his surprise choice of Leon Panetta, the former Clinton White House official, to head the CIA.

It was an inauspicious start, coming with word that the Obama transition team was readying a massive tax-cut component to his economic stimulus package to lure Republican support for the broader plan.

Obama on Friday personally said he would work with lawmakers to "hone and refine" his economic recovery plan, signaling his intent to respond to Democratic concerns about the plan as it takes shape.