A Study In Comity

When I asked the commission members whether they thought their experience of coming to agreement could serve as an example to others, the answers were emphatic.

"Hopefully," Jordan said, "the House and Senate and both political parties will be instructed by our process. In the rollout, we're going to try to provide that example. I'll be going around with Ed Meese," the former Republican attorney general, "and there will be other bipartisan pairs, led by Baker and Hamilton."

When I put the question to Panetta, he said, "Our forefathers intended that a process like this work for people elected to office -- the president and members of Congress in both the House and Senate. They believed they would come from different places but ultimately find consensus -- that was the Miracle of Philadelphia," the compromise that produced the Constitution.

"What's unusual now is their contracting out to people like us a job that elected officials are supposed to do -- finding consensus on difficult issues. I hope this will be a lesson to them; otherwise, we're in for continued trench warfare."

Panetta concluded: "This is an opportunity to look at the realities we're confronting in Iraq. For too long, both sides have been trapped by their sound bites. I hope they realize that if they're going to govern this country, they have to work together."

Simpson was even more expansive. "This could be an example, not only of how to handle Iraq, but it could apply to immigration, Social Security and all those other things that have been hung up for so long. That's what this last election said: Get serious and get your work done."

I hope Washington is listening.

davidbroder@washpost.com