President Bush And Rep. Pelosi Make Nice

Common Ground Pledged Between Bush And Incoming House Speaker At Luncheon

(CBS/AP)  President Bush made nice with Speaker-to-be Nancy Pelosi after Democrats gave his Republicans a trouncing on Election Day, but not before handing House GOP leaders a long legislative wish-list for the lame-duck session that they'll orchestrate.

After a bitter campaign that sometimes got personal between the president and the woman to be House speaker, the two had a makeup luncheon at the White House. Appearing publicly in the Oval Office after an hour of private discussions, the pair emphasized finding common ground and ignoring talk of bedeviling specifics, such as their division over the Iraq war. They took no questions.

Neither Bush nor Pelosi, however, completely ignored the fact that they often disagree.

"When you win, you have a responsibility to do the best you can for the country," Mr. Bush said, with Vice President Dick Cheney sitting glumly on a couch to his left. "We won't agree on every issue, but we do agree that we love America."

"We both extended the hand of friendship and partnership to solve the problems facing our country," added Pelosi, like the president, eagerly leaning forward in her chair. "We have our differences and we will debate them ... but we will do so in a way that gets results."

Pelosi and the president have had a contentious relationship, and the hope was that Thursday's lunch would help lower the partisan temperature, reports CBS News correspondent Mark Knoller.

Mr. Bush has mocked Pelosi as "a secret admirer" of tax cuts and an opponent of measures crucial to keeping Americans safe, warning that "terrorists win and America loses" while the Democrat has characterized the president as dangerous and an "emperor with no clothes."

However, it was the president who initiated the reconciliation. Mr. Bush's counselor, Dan Bartlett, quipped to the CBSEarly Show that the president's lunch menu would include, "a little bit of crow."

Mr. Bush extended the lunch invitation after this week's election that will put Democrats in charge of the House and the Senate for the final two years of his presidency. Earlier, after meeting with his Cabinet and Republican leaders from the House and Senate, the president ticked off a to-do list for the current Congress before January's changeover in power.

It included: spending bills funding government's continued operation "with strong fiscal discipline and without diminishing our capacity to fight the war on terror;" legislation retroactively authorizing his warrantless domestic surveillance of suspected terrorists; energy legislation; and congressional approval for a landmark civilian nuclear cooperation agreement with India and for normalizing trade relations with Vietnam.

"The next few weeks are going to be busy ones," the president said in the Rose Garden.

Mr. Bush cast such objectives as a way for both parties to "rise above partisan differences." But with Democrats skeptical of many of these items, the president's plea for Capitol Hill to do things his way — which came just a half-hour before his session with Pelosi — could complicate his effort to reach out to Democrats.

Ever since Tuesday's elections, Mr. Bush and Pelosi have been pledging to find common ground in a turned-upside-down Washington.

Both sides have much at stake.

The last two years of a presidency are difficult times for any Oval Office occupant. In the twilight of power, they must fight lame-duck status to get anything done.

But Mr. Bush is heading into that perilous period after an Election Day that pried his party's grip from Capitol Hill, in voting widely seen as a rebuke of him and his leadership, particularly on Iraq.

That makes his domestic wish list — such as adding private accounts to Social Security and permanently extending all tax cuts passed during his administration — not much more than a fantasy, especially for a president who largely has ignored the same Democrats who now will control the legislative agenda.

Add to that the prospect of Democratic investigations into missteps in the war, treatment of terrorism detainees and Mr. Bush's expansion of executive power, and his next two years could be a headache.

Democrats, too, have much to lose. If seen as unproductive or too obstructionist, they risk losing their majority — a very slim one in the Senate — in two years. How they govern also could impact the party's chances in the wide-open race for the White House in 2008.

Hence all the happy talk about bipartisanship.

Pelosi, for instance, put any suggestion of impeachment proceedings against Mr. Bush "off the table." She welcomed the president's move to capitulate to critics and accept the resignation of Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld.

Mr. Bush signaled readiness to consider Democratic priorities such as a federal minimum-wage increase and to find compromise on renewing the No Child Left Behind education law, overhauling immigration policy and overhauling budget-busting entitlement programs.

Yet the two sides remain bitterly divided over Iraq.

[markfoley01]

PELOSI IS A DRIED UP WITCH

HE HE HE



THESE CHARGES OF SO CALED "WAR PROFITEERING" ARE LUDICRUOUS.

I THINK NANCY PELOSI SHOULD BE CHARGED WITH CRIMES OF "BEING A DRIED UP WITCH" HE HE.


TEH HOuse IS GAY, EVARYONE KNOWS THat...NOBODY PAYS ATTENTION TO THEm. IN THIS DAY AND AGE MOST ATENTION WILL BE PAID TO TEH SUPREME COURTS OF JUSTICE.

THE 3 BRANCHES OF LEGISLATION HAVE TO BALANCE THEMSELFSE OUT AT SOMTIME. I FOR ONE WOULD LEIK TO HEAR WHAT THEY HAVE TO SAY.

P.S I VOTED FOR TEH GREEN PARTy. THEY HAVE IDEAS AND IDEAS MAEK PROGRESS AND PROGRESS MAKES VICTORY IN IRAQ.

[j-whitman]

Former Tresury Secretary Snow,,, should be in prison for WAR PROFITEERING & HIS UNREGULATED HEDGE FUNDS INVESTIGATED

[j-whitman]

The 3 Stooges have to go --- Bush,, Cheney,, Rice

[j-whitman]

Bush not only has to be impeached,, he has to face War Crimes & charges of WAR PROFITEERING,, for America to regain our respectibility with the world..

[lewyoowy]

it doesnt matter if by impeahing Bush, we end up with cheny.....that makes pelosi vice president...........and cheny would fall to......yummy yummy

[j-whitman]

Times.com - Rumsfeild, Alberto Gonzales & others in this administration are now being charged with WAR CRIMES BY GERMANY -- WE NEED TO FOLLOW THIER LEAD..

[pakaal]

machnews, I have to tell you, it'd be a miracle if anyone could figure out what you're trying to say! "Common ground" was about the only thing I could get from your comment below. What did you mean to say?

I had a thought , maybe the common ground could and by some meriacle the voters who put them there in the first place and the nation as a whole . Just a thought from a voter who did not vote for change.

[beenwatchin]

I would like to see W impeached but then we would just get cheney for president. a guy who got drunk and shot a "freind". I'm don't think that if you or I did that we would be walking around free today. Let's put the people who break laws more severe than adultry in prison where the belong. They've plundered our treasury for the profit of their freinds and for some reason nobody seems to care. Why were people like Ken Lay and the people of big oil companies allowed to help write our national energy policy with *** Cheney? etc, etc, etc,...........

[phil-in-fin]

"Mr. Bush signaled readiness to consider Democratic priorities such as a federal minimum-wage increase and to find compromise on renewing the No Child Left Behind education law, overhauling immigration policy and overhauling budget-busting entitlement programs."

Oh, so NOW they have become priorities ...

To shake hands with Bush, he would have to kiss my a** first, but then again, I am not a politician.

Nancy Pelosi is doing the right thing: it is about time the things were put back into balance.

[olebd]

I expect Dubya to roll over and relax toward the end of his term just like his daddy did. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

[grumpas]

I am like those who say we should demand impeachment! To settle for anything less would make a mockery of everything we are supposed to stand for. I still remember the Republican's trying to impeach Clinton over lying to Congress about Monica! That was literally nothing compared to the lie's George has told! If we are ever going to have any self-respect as a nation he is going to have to be impeached! He lied to start a totally unnecessary war! His feet should be held to the fire to let future President's know this is not acceptable behavior for a President! The American people will not tolerate it!

[observantx]

So now we have everyone making nice.

What we saw at the, excuse me, OUR White House was pure Kabuki theatre. Fearless Leader will smile and nod and so will Nancy for the cameras. The struggle for power will go on. As it stands now the only changes we will see for the near term will be around the edges.

The only way to ensure we have substantial return of power away from corporations and the silver spoon crowd and back to the average middle class Jack and Jill is to make it absolutely clear each of our senators and representatives that the following questions are going to be asked every day:

Who has been lobbying you for what?
Who has been contributing to you and why?
Who actually wrote the legislation you are promoting?
Who are the people you have been seeing and who are the people you have not been seeing?
Are you keeping your nose out of our personal lives and decisions?
Are you defending and upholding the Constitution or your own position and agenda?

Find the address, phone number and email of your senator and representative on the web. Use them if you believe they are backsliding.

[mjv2944]

It's doing to be quite difficult for Dubya and his band of merry thieves , to operate within the Constitution. Hope the dems don't fall too far to the left, if they do, they are doomed, as the people will not tolerate the radicals as just witnessed Tuesday. Do whats right for America and not big business or other special interests, and you might survive. A really strong third party or term limits are needed.

[shingles1]

I don't expect either a push for impeachment or a withdrawal from Iraq.

Both are bad politics all around. The Democrats will refer to "timetables" for withdrawal instead of "benchmarks" and will slowly move us in that direction. But much slower than either wings hope or fear. So we'll still be there for a while.

I DO expect that Congress WILL finally conduct some oversight of the Executive branch. And that's what you'll want to watch - the investigations there - if NEW information is revealed that shows criminal conduct on the part of the President, then impeachment is on the table. But not off the bat.

Remember, part of the problem with this past Congress is that they've been useless. In every possible way. So the American Public is looking for a change in direction, but they're also looking for Congress to actually get some work done.

[pakaal]

Isn't that shweet? Look at those two lovebirds. Kiss her you fool!

[formycountry]

We must demand impeachment. Without it there can be no respect for the constitution, no respect for the rule of law, no respect for America. Let Nancy Pelosi know that she must deal with these issues when she assumes the responsibility for representing the wishes of the majority of the American people.

[rharrin1]

She said impeachment not on the table
I wonder what these two have to do, I guess they are above the law.
If a private citizen did what these two have done they would be executed. One politician looking out for the other.

ARE YOU SURE SHE IS A DEMOCRAT

[pakaal]

If this country is going to get together, now's a great time to do it. Hopefully Bush and Pelosi 'making nice' can serve to move past the worst of the partisanship - although that's a long shot at best.

[talkingham]

Colbert was so sad last night but sang an excellent if not disturbing harmony to Jon Hall's rendition of the National Anthem. South Park helped cheer me back up. I guess Cheney had a good hunting trip if was hunting for crow.

I do hope some of the Dems decide to investigate some of the aspects of how the war has been "run." Instead of concentrating on the real issues of the day as soon as the repubs took power in '94 they tried to literally destroy him and his family. The repubs hired a partisan special prosecutor who spents millions and took years to investigate every aspect of the Clintons. We won't see that with Bush. His daddy is too powerful with CIA heaadquarters named after him after all. Invading another country under false pretenses is about as bad as it gets but I don't think we'll see an investigation unless Murtha gets a chance.