Candidates'
Unification Pledges Raise Hope and Skepticism

Each U.S. presidential candidate has pledged, if elected, to reach across party lines and bring the country together. It is a familiar but often futile promise, leaving Americans to wonder if divisiveness will again prevail or if a window is open for a more civil, constructive era.

On some issues, including health care and global warming, activists and civic leaders already see glimmers of movement toward bipartisan solutions. On other matters -- Iraq, abortion, gay rights, racial disparities -- differences seem stark and compromise elusive.

''People should have a historic perspective on how deep and difficult these issues are,'' said Faye Wattleton, a former head of Planned Parenthood who is now president of the Center for the Advancement of Women. ''You can't just declare, 'Now we'll all come together,' and people will lay down their swords.''

The Rev. Joel Hunter, a megachurch pastor from Florida who has urged fellow Christian conservatives to take up issues like poverty and the environment, said a growing number of Americans, especially young people, are distancing themselves from Democratic and Republican party labels.

''They know the problems are so big that it's going to take more than one party and one category of people to solve them,'' he said. ''Ultimately, the voices of cooperation will emerge victorious, but I think it's going to be a battle, and it's going to get very nasty from now until November.''

Throughout the campaign, Sen. John McCain, the Republican front-runner, has appealed strongly to independent voters with his image as a maverick ready to work outside strict party lines.

On the Democratic side, Sen. Barack Obama also has drawn independent support with his pitch to move beyond partisanship. His rival, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, has touted her ability to work with colleagues of both parties.

Karlyn Bowman, an expert on polling with the right-of-center American Enterprise Institute, said both McCain and Obama, if nominated, might have strong appeal outside their own parties.

''There's a real opportunity, because people see these guys as straight shooters, for them to reach out,'' she said.

On Iraq, partisan differences are gaping: McCain has termed the Democrats' troop withdrawal plans ''surrender.''

But illegal immigration could be one of the most intriguing barometers of any serious desire for cooperation.

McCain was a lead sponsor last year of a failed compromise bill, backed by President George W. Bush and most Democrats, that would have tightened border security while also allowing illegal immigrants a pathway toward citizenship. During the campaign, as McCain sought support from Republican conservatives, he has stressed that border security would be his first priority, while his Democratic rivals continued to advocate a comprehensive approach.

''There's no question this issue can be a polarizing one. We've seen Republicans demagogue it and Democrats tiptoe around it,'' said Janet Murgia, president of the National Council of La Raza, a Hispanic civil rights group.

''But there's a real opportunity for unity out there,'' she said. ''We need people who understand the importance of showing leadership and addressing this issue in a way to bring this country together instead of dividing it.''

While the immigration debate has pushed increasing numbers of Hispanics into the Democratic camp, an overwhelming majority of blacks already are entrenched there -- perceiving the Republicans as uninterested in their priorities.

''On general issues, McCain has demonstrated an ability for bipartisan behavior,'' said Yvonne Scruggs-Leftwich, a board member of the Black Leadership Forum. ''But he's had no policies for cities and urban areas where so many poor people live.''

Among the most divisive issues in recent elections have been ''hot-button'' social topics, notably abortion and gay rights. On these, McCain differs sharply with the Democratic contenders; he supports the policy that bars gays from serving openly in the military and favors repeal of the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that widely legalized abortion.

On such issues, said Scruggs-Leftwich, the appointment of Supreme Court justices could test any new president's pledge of bipartisanship. She noted that McCain has been indicating to conservatives that he would appoint justices in the mold of Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito, whose stances have antagonized many liberal groups.

''You can't expect to engender willingness to collaborate from liberals and moderates when you have these kind of divisive appointments,'' she said.

On economic policy, the Democrats want to repeal tax cuts for the wealthy; the Republicans do not. But Jason Furman, a Brookings Institution economist, sees some opportunity for bipartisan compromise on broader fiscal issues: ''The starting point is that there's a remarkable degree of unanimity among the public that the economy is not doing that well.'' He also cited health care and climate change as other areas where bipartisan approaches might succeed.

Reverend Bob Edgar, a former congressman and National Council of Churches leader who now heads Common Cause, said most Americans are fed up with political bickering.

''People want to return to civility. They want Capitol Hill to work. They want Congress to put aside its partisanship on issues like health care and global warming,'' he said. ''But you're not going to have legislation unless you have public officials who are serving the public interest instead of the special interest.''

The window for ambitious bipartisan overtures by a new president could be narrow, according to Norman Ornstein, a congressional scholar with the American Enterprise Institute. He suggested the president-elect start working on such plans the day after the election.

''You need to set up a program to get a couple of big things done within the first few months and then hope you can get people from the wings of both parties who don't want to just thumb their noses at it,'' he said. ''If you can't do that early on, the odds are very limited that you'll be able to do it later.'' (AP)