Washington (CNN) -- In his State of the Union address Tuesday night, President Barack Obama told lawmakers who were sitting alongside colleagues from across the aisle, "What comes of this moment will be determined not by whether we can sit together tonight, but whether we can work together tomorrow."
Now that "tomorrow" is here, a big question hanging over Washington is: Will they or won't they?
Speaking to CNN Wednesday morning, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor offered an optimistic view. "There's a lot of areas that he and I will disagree," said Cantor, R-Virginia, noting spending cuts and health care.
"But I do think that the president put forward some ideas that we Republicans can work with him on." Cantor cited job creation, lowering the corporate tax rate, and simplifying the tax code "so we can get jobs going here at home."
"Like the president, I'm a results-driven kind of guy," said Cantor. "I want to see something done."
Cantor said he had no criticism of fellow Republican Michele Bachmann, who offered a separate response address from the official GOP response, which was given by Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin. Bachmann represented the Tea Party movement.
"All members of Congress have the ability to speak out," said Cantor. "I don't fault anyone."
He added, "I think we can all move forward together, get people aback to work, and actually produce that better future that the president talked about."
House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer told CNN Wednesday the mixed seating at the State of the Union speech served as "a good start."
"Now, hopefully, that atmosphere will carry over to meet the challenges," Hoyer said. He pointed to the lame duck session of Congress at the end of 2010, in which Republicans and Democrats showed "it can be done" by making key compromises and getting important legislation passed. "I think we need to do that -- I think we can do that," Hoyer said, adding that he is working with GOP leaders to "move forward in a way that will affect change."
The nation's ballooning debt is giving both parties reason to come together, Hoyer said. When asked about the two Republican responses to the president's addresses, Hoyer said, "What we saw was common ground in a recognition that dealing with a budget deficit is an absolutely critical objective if we're going to stabilize and grow our economy. We cannot sustain the deficit picture that confronts us."
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