Here’s an argument for a return to the kind of bipartisan foreign policy we had during WW II and the early Cold War years. Among their many points about what led to the collapse of bipartisanship, and what can be done, Charles Kupchan and Peter Trubowitz at Real Clear Politics say:

Former Secretary of State Dean Acheson once claimed that 80 percent of the job of foreign policy was “management of your domestic ability to have a policy.” He may have exaggerated, but he expressed an enduring truth: good policy requires good politics. Bringing ends and means back into balance would help restore the confidence of the American public in the conduct of U.S. foreign policy. But implementing a strategic adjustment will require dampening polarization and building a stable consensus behind it. As Roosevelt demonstrated during World War II, sound leadership and tireless public diplomacy are prerequisites for fashioning bipartisan cooperation on foreign policy.

I’m not too sure about this. The extremities of WW II forced bipartisanship, as did the later bipolar world with its unprecedented “nuclear terror.” The Truman and Eisenhower era administrations worked hard, both openly and covertly, to convince Americans to be frightened of the Soviets and the “international communist conspiracy,” and this management of fear worked well enough to produce bipartisanship. The Bush administration is trying to push and manage fear of a “global network of terrorists,” but either its not working, or it’s too soon to tell.

It is refreshing to read of compromise in the United States Senate. Now if we can keep the extreme factions of both parties from going over a cliff ,we might see some real movement on a bill addressing Illegal Immigration.

From heading right :

Senators negotiating a bipartisan immigration reform bill have settled on the details of a plan that would immediately grant legal status to all illegal immigrants currently in the United States.

The deal on “Z visas” for illegal immigrants is one of several issues where Democrats and Republicans have reached broad agreement. …

The plan to award legal status to all illegal immigrants who meet certain qualifications would occur only after other “triggers” are met. These triggers would require that certain border security and work-site enforcement measures be in place before other aspects of the overhaul go forward.

The Z visa plan would start with the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the United States going on a probationary legal status. If the triggers are met — a process that Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) estimated would take 18 months — then illegal immigrants who qualify could get Z visas. Those who have committed felonies would not be eligible, Graham said, and all participants would have to pass security checks, pay a fine and a processing fee and pass an English proficiency test.

Z visa holders would be able to apply for legal permanent resident status, a step toward citizenship. But at some point, the heads of households with Z visas would have to return to his or her home country and then reenter the United States. They would have to take their Z visa to the U.S. Embassy or consulate and would be guaranteed reentry. The Z visa would include a photo and fingerprints, Graham said.

I am certain skeptics will come out with all of their objections to which they are entitled, but for the moment it is gratifying to think our elected officials are working diligently toward a resolution of an extremely complex issue.

Read the whole piece at heading right to get Ed Morrissey’s take on this compromise. It is written with a great deal of common sense and of course, his usual flair.