Places For Progress

By Nathan Thornburgh

Despite all the cordial luncheons and admissions that both sides love America, the President and the newly elected Democratic Congress aren't likely to find common ground on hot-button issues like stem-cell research and no-warrant wiretaps. Here's our pick of policies on which the two might actually do business:

Minimum Wage

The day after elections, the President's most prominent offer of cooperation came on this issue. Democrats have long made raising the federal minimum wage, which hasn't budged since 1997, a centerpiece of their platform. They want to boost it from $5.15 an hour to $7.25. The party's congressional members have pledged not to raise their own pay until the hike passes.

Education

Democratic Senator Ted Kennedy is set to chair the Senate committee that oversees education. Although he has bitterly accused President Bush of underfunding the No Child Left Behind Act of 2002, Kennedy has said he still believes in its principle: using standards to lift every student's performance. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings told TIME last week that she and the Senator had made the act's reauthorization a joint priority even before the election. "Kennedy and I talked this summer about the need to get this done--win, lose or draw," she said.

Alternative Energy

The two parties have pledged to work together to develop alternative fuel sources. Look for more tax credits and subsidies to help companies develop green and renewable energy. The President, who said in his last State of the Union address that "America is addicted to oil," is scheduled to talk up hybrid and ethanol-powered flex-fuel cars this week. And his market-centric approach may find an ally in Michigan's John Dingell, the Democrat who will be in charge of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Unlike many of his party colleagues, Dingell, a friend of his state's auto industry, is against mandating higher fuel-efficiency standards for carmakers.

Immigration

Members of Bush's party spent much of this year deriding and stonewalling his compromise plan for reforming immigration policy, which called for enhanced border security along with a path to citizenship for certain working immigrants. A Democratic Congress is much more likely to craft a Bush-style solution. Bush and the Democrats may well start with modest reforms like the AgJobs bill, an attempt by Senators from both parties to normalize the immigrant farm-labor economy. It stalled in the House this year.