Congress' failure to pass the $700 billion rescue plan will likely godown in history as a moment of destructive partisanship during a timewhen unity and cooperation were most needed.
Last week's deliberations over the bailout package suggested thatcongressional leaders would be able to put ideological differencesaside and deal with the financial crisis pragmatically. There was hopethat Congress' increasingly bipartisan rhetoric -- as well as McCainand Obama's collaboration on this issue -- might be a portent of achanged Washington, where sensible solutions take precedence overpolitics. Unfortunately, this was not to be.
In order to deal with the problems that will face the nation in comingyears, a President Obama or President McCain will have to create thebipartisan spirit that has been missing in Washington. And, despitethe shameful divisiveness surrounding the bailout fiasco, there isreason to be optimistic.
Sen. McCain has stated that he'd consider nominating a Democrat toserve as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Sen.Obama has announced that he'd work closely with Secretary Paulson toensure an orderly transition, if elected.
Such bipartisan consensus is encouraging. The country needs a similarapproach to other vexing issues.
Take energy, for example. With gas prices still hovering around fourbucks a gallon, it's clear that the American consumer needs somerelief. A bipartisan group of senators -- the so-called "Gang of 20"-- appeared set to advance legislation that would have combinedresponsible offshore oil drilling with the closure of some taxloopholes for oil companies.
Unfortunately, election-year politics seem to have gotten in the way,as the proposal has been shelved. Voters should let lawmakers knowthat they won't stand for punting of this sort. Action is urgentlyneeded.
In contrast to the impasse over energy, we may be seeing somecompromise on an important healthcare issue -- prescription drugimportation.
Although Sens. Obama and McCain are on record as supporters of drugimportation, it emerged this month that the candidates arere-considering the issue. Both candidates, it seems, saw the threatthat imported meds pose earlier this year when contaminated heparinfrom China killed almost 100 people.
Despite the shift, neither candidate has attacked the other. That'sgood news for voters, as safety must be a primary concern ofpoliticians.
It remains to be seen if these examples of bipartisan unity willbecome the rule in Washington. But if they don't, the consequences forthe major parties could be dire.
After all, Americans have proven that they're not afraid to migrate tothird parties when their dissatisfaction reaches high levels. Forevidence, one need only look to 1980, when John Anderson reached 24percent in opinion polls before the election. Or take 1992, when RossPerot captured nearly 19 percent of the vote. Polls suggest that morethan half of registered voters would either vote for a third-partycandidate or welcome a major third-party presence.
Given the remarkable unpopularity of all branches of government,Democrats and Republicans clearly have a choice: They can eitherengage in the partisanship that has soured voters or work together toseek commonsense solutions that resonate with all Americans.
The recent effort to repair the country's ailing financial system wasa perfect opportunity to make historic progress is ending the viciouspartisanship that has characterized Washington for decades. Voters canonly hope that McCain and Obama will learn from this week's failure.
Douglas E. Schoen was a campaign consultant for more than 30 years andis the author of "Declaring Independence: The Beginning of the End ofthe Two-Party System."