Around Town: Parties Playing Nice

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WHAT A TRANSFORMATION a looming election can be for legislation. Whereas any previous effort to correct the massive congestion that plagues Northern Virginia's roadways has died on the vine, a political resolution may be near. The Post's Michael D. Shear reports that Republican lawmakers, fearful of retribution at the hands of voters come next November, are putting aside longstanding grievances with their Democratic colleagues in order to hammer out a compromise.

But nothing is certain. Could it be that state legislators don't want to add insult to injury to Gov. Tim Kaine, at right, who has failed thus far to bring transportation reform? (Republican lawmakers have obstructed Kaine's efforts to push his transportation reform agenda.) Do Democrats, tempted by the blue-state surge of the 2006 elections, want to play hardball? Maybe not — Virginians are really sick of traffic and further delays in transportation reform could backfire.

The state of Virginia is just one piece in the national puzzle: Republicans and groups with conservative interests everywhere are playing nice with the newly minted Democratic majority. Even the marketplace is not immune to the changing political reality. Consider that AT&T just promised network- neutrality protections in order to guarantee that its takeover of BellSouth Corp. would not be greeted with hostility from Congress, as the Los Angeles Times reported last week.

The White House, however, is still holding out. Even as many observers considered the election that handed the Democrats a majority in Congress to be a referendum on the president's conduct of the war in Iraq, President Bush is continuing forth with an escalation on the ground.

» "Va. Roads Deal Near, Say Lawmakers" [WaPo]
» "Internet Toll Lanes Appear Less Likely" [LAT]
» "With Iraq Speech, Bush to Pull Away From His Generals" [WaPo]

» PENN QUARTER: A construction worker died in a fall on the construction site of the Newseum, the AP reports. Quite bizarrely, the worker was found naked, according to NBC 4's account. [AP via WaPo; WRC/NBC4]

» CAPITOL HILL: The smoking ban finally hits the halls of Congress today. In a move that must surely irk entrenched privileged smoking members, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., just signed into effect new rules banning smoking in the Speaker's Lobby, Roll Call's Jennifer Yachnin reports. [Roll Call, subscription req'd]

» FAIRFAX: Another tragic fall, this time on George Mason University campus grounds, where a student fell to his death. WJLA/ABC 7 has the story. Sad news for an already unhappy university. [WJLA/ABC7; DCist]

Photos by Nikki Kahn/The Washington Post and Michael Grass/Express