A thaw in Washington?

"I believe the public is telling us to knock it off and behave like adults," says Sen. Lindsey Graham.

By Gloria Borger

Sen. Pat Leahy has never been a George W. Bush pal. Neither has he been a favorite of the vice president, for that matter, who once famously advised the liberal Vermont senator to "go f - - - yourself ." But Leahy is the ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, so about an hour after Justice Sandra Day O'Connor announced her resignation, Leahy found himself interrupting a press conference back home to take a call--from the president.

So what's going on here? Comity and consultation from a White House that has never been known for reaching out--even to members of its own party? Democrats publicly applauding the White House for finally paying attention to them? And the ultimate question: Is this for real or just for show? It's too early to say--but it's no mystery why all of this is happening: The public wants it that way.

Voter disgust. According to last week's NBC- Wall Street Journal poll, the constant bickering between the president and Congress has taken a toll on each side. Congress's approval rating is now embarrassingly low at 28 percent, and the president's is at 46 percent--which is among his lowest. "I believe the public is telling us to knock it off and behave like adults," says Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, a conservative who is a member of the bipartisan "Gang of 14" devoted to keeping peace in the Senate. So, it's just self-interest? "It doesn't matter why people get religion," he told me, "so long as they get it."

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The idealist in me says, "I hope this is true. Wouldn't this be nice?" The realist in me says, "I find this to be highly unlikely."