Time for Bush to Steer Noah's Ark

Some major gestures of conciliation are due from President Bush, says Republican wordsmith and pollster Frank Luntz, who offers this suggestion for the State of the Union address Janu-ary 23: The prez should point out, by name, five Democratic legislators and five Republican legislators and praise them for a specific idea or piece of legislation for which he would request bipartisan support. Why? "So the American people see that the president is pulling ideas from both sides, not only Republicans and not only Democrats," adds the author of the new Words That Work: It's Not What You Say, It's What People Hear. Luntz calls it the "Noah's Ark" strategy: Bush gets the message from the elections and is ready to lock arms with Dems.

With Kevin Whitelaw and Kenneth T. Walsh