Editorial: Hillary, Newt on the same page?

Monday, May 16, 2005 | 9:13 a.m.

Nasty partisanship has become the rule in Washington, so much so that when two diehard foes get together on an issue it causes the kind of double take that can create political whiplash. At least that was the case last week when Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., and Newt Gingrich, the former Republican speaker of the House, announced that they were joining forces to try to modernize health care in the 21st century. That's right, Gingrich, the man who led the fight to impeach President Bill Clinton and who successfully derailed Hillary Clinton's plan to provide universal health care for Americans, is working with Hillary. She joked during a news conference on Thursday that some people might see the alliance as a sign that doomsday was just around the corner.

Some pundits have said that this is more about political maneuvering by both Clinton and Gingrich, as they try to broaden their appeal as potential candidates for the president in 2008. Sure, politics might be involved, but would it really be so terrible if Democrats and Republicans were to come together and try to improve our health care system -- and a host of other issues for that matter -- and score political points along the way?

We're not suggesting that Democrats and Republicans compromise on crucial issues just for the sake of compromise. Very frequently a compromise, especially one that tries to be all things to all people, actually can worsen a situation instead of improving it. But the fact remains that the political parties in Washington have become so hardened in their positions -- and Republicans in recent years, particularly in their alliance with the right-wing media, have been mostly responsible for the demonizing rhetoric and the resulting political gridlock -- that even civil debate seems out of reach.

We have no illusions that the name-calling and attack ads will ever disappear, but the willingness by Clinton and Gingrich to put aside some of their differences could cause other smart politicians to rethink the slash-and-burn politics so prevalent today. Who knows, maybe, just maybe -- to borrow a memorable line from the film "Casablanca" -- "this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."