N.Y. Republican Won't Vote For Gingrich -- Dec. 30, 1996

Clinton Nears Final Budget Negotiations -- Dec. 27, 1996

Whither Prospects For Cooperation In Washington?

By Bruce Morton/CNN

WASHINGTON (Dec. 30) -- It's a new day, a new season in Washington. Democratic president. Republican Congress. Round two. Will they get along, like the creatures in Edward Hick's Peaceable Kingdom?

Or will they fight? Some voters CNN talked to in Shepherdstown, West Virginia knew which they were for.

Said Anderson Clark, "I love the idea of the possibility of real compromise."

"We can't stand so fast on a particular issue and practice partisan politics to the point of ruination," noted Patty Perez.

Another, Mike Henderson, ventured that "they've got the tools, they've got the people, they've got what they want. Go to work. Get it done."

And back in Washington, the politicians talk cooperation.

Declared House Speaker Newt Gingrich: "We find ourselves where with a Democratic president and a Republican congress and we have an absolute moral obligation to make this system work."

The president, for his part, says that "the answer is clear. The center can hold, the center has held, and the American people are demanding that it continue to do so."

Well, it's not all sweetness and light -- not according to Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott.

"I don't think they want a constitutional amendment for a balanced budget, and I have my doubts they want a balanced budget," he said. "But we'll see."

It won't be easy. They really disagree on how to balance the budget, on what to do about Medicare, or campaign spending. And it's not just issues. Wisconsin Republican Steve Gunderson is retiring after sixteen years in the House.

"There is this deep, underlying dislike for each other," Gunderson said. "I mean, many of the Republicans in Congress dislike Bill Clinton personally, and likewise, many of the Democrats dislike Newt personally. So this is not just philosophical, it's personal and it's very deep."

What's more, Congress will be holding hearings, investigating the President, and perhaps Speaker Gingrich, at the same time it is arguing about legislation -- another reason for partisan anger. And neither side has the votes to steamroller the other side.

Republican strategist Ed Rollins said, "There's always twenty or thirty Republicans or twenty or thirty Democrats that sort of move away from the party line, so you've got to make sure that they are all happy. It's gonna be real tough, it's gonna be real tough."

But if it's gridlock, voters may become angry, even vengeful. So is it hopeless? Maybe not. Members of Congress do have to run for re-election, and they may remember what happened last time.

Last May, 65 percent of the sample disapproved of the job Congress was doing. Then they passed laws on welfare, the minimum wage, clean drinking water. By August, disapproval was down to 49 percent.

Said Gunderson, "In order for Republicans to maintain control, they've gotta be able to show that can solve real peoples' problems, and obviously, for Bill Clinton, to minimize the traditional downturn of a midterm election, and really, his first two years is all he's got."

So maybe we should look for the most cooperation toward the end of this Congress, close to election day, 1998.

This story originally appeared on CNN's "Inside Politics."