Divided We Stand

How divided can Congress get? And what does that mean for us? Last week Republicans in Congress handed President Clinton and the Democrats a stinging defeat in voting down the nuclear test ban treaty. Is cooperation possible on anything?

CBS News Face the Nation Anchor Bob Schieffer discussed these issues with Sen. Tom Daschle (D-SD), minority leader, and Senator Don Nickles (R-Okla.), assistant majority leader.

Perhaps, as Rep. Lee Hamilton, D-Ind., has said, President Clinton simply does not have the ability to persuade the Senate on national security issues. Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said when the Senate has respect for the president, there is a better chance of getting a treaty.

Daschle explains the Senate's action as a failure "to set aside whatever personal animus they might have toward the president and recognize the shock waves that this action has taken internationally. It shouldn't come down to whether or not you like a president."

Don Nickles disagrees. "Countless Democrats said they wanted the treaty up to vote on it. Sen. Lott said be careful. You might get what you asked for. They should know what the Constitution says. Two-thirds to ratify. They didn't even have a majority vote, and for good reason...[the treaty] jeopardizes our national securityÂ… you have to have some testing to make sure your weapons are safe and that they're credible. This treaty was a perpetual ban, a ban for 100 years. It was a fatally flawed treaty," he said.

Nickles also differed with Daschle's explanation of why the Republicans would not postpone the treaty vote. "I think that it was, frankly, Bill Clinton's fault," Nickles said. "Senator Lott said if he wanted to delay it, if he could give us assurances he wouldn't bring it up next year for political purposes, he would have put it off. Bill Clinton didn't do that. Bill Clinton didn't call Trent Lott until an hour before the voteÂ… That's a little late."

Both feel that the treaty and its fate in the Senate will be campaign issues. Though Nickles feels the GOP has nothing to fear on that front, saying "I think this administration's record on nuclear non-proliferation has been dismal."

There's little hope for any progress on the hot-button issue of campaign reform, either. "Working with President Clinton on campaign finance reform is like working with Bonnie and Clyde on banking reform."

There lingers the distinct impression that this Senate so loathes this president that cooperation between the parties is unlikely.