The Prospects for Bipartisanship on Capitol Hill

President Obama met with the congressional Republican leadership yesterday, and the two sides identified some areas where it may be possible to work together, including "trade policy, environmentally conscious jobs, nuclear power and offshore drilling." As soon as the meeting was over, however, both sides came out with partisan statements, and the Senate Republicans blocked the nomination of Craig Becker, a prolabor lawyer Obama wants to appoint to the National Labor Relations Board. For a very interesting discussion of the prospects for bipartisanship in Washington, see this exchange between New York Times reporters Adam Nagourney and Jeff Zeleny.

Update: A new ABC News/Washington Post poll shows that Americans blame both sides for the gridlock in Washington and want them to continue working on issues like health care reform.