Is cooperation on the agendas of Congress and the White House?

If anyone was looking for gridlock in Washington to ease up Tuesday, they were sadly mistaken.

Republican lawmakers in the House immediately began to take aim at weakening Obamacare and Senate Republicans pushed the languishing Keystone XL pipeline, and Democratic President Barack Obama’s White House responded with veto threats … along with an invitation for congressional leaders from both parties to drop by the White House next week for a chat.

So, will the next two years be political brinkmanship or statesmanship?

We have to lean toward the likelihood of continued governmental stalemate, though the “Party of No” tag may well cross the aisle to rest with the Democrats and Obama as they become obstructionists of the GOP-majority legislative agenda. Lawmakers and the White House have proven adept at that approach, and the divisions between the Democratic and Republican camps don’t seem to have narrowed any.

What we can hope is that some of this push this/veto that posturing is simply peacock-strutting being done for the benefit of those on each party’s edge who tend to be vocal. Certainly with all the issues facing the nation — infrastructure in serious need of attention, an economy that still is too soft, threats from terrorists and national security in general, foreign policy, immigration concerns and a host of others — one president and several hundred lawmakers can come to meetings of the minds on at least some of the issues in ways that would benefit the nation as a whole.

For instance, we believe the biennial budgeting process suggested by Georgia’s now senior senator, Johnny Isakson, is something that deserves serious consideration and, in our opinion, adoption. The process would allow Congress and the president to arrive at a two-year spending plan in non-election year that would got a long way toward keeping political posturing out the budgeting process. That would appear to be one area that Congress and the president could easily agree upon if they truly have the nation’s best interests at heart, since keeping good books and coming up with a solid budget should be bipartisan goals.

A lot of the tenor of the just-starting 114th Congress may be set next week, assuming congressional leaders agree to the meeting with Obama. One of two things will emerge — either a spirit of both sides looking for ways to work together, or a clinking glasses that is tantamount to boxers touching gloves before the bell.

We can — and do — hope for the former, but history tells us to expect the latter.

— The Albany Herald Editorial Board