Pollster: Congress Won't Be A Lovefest

BIG wins for Republicans on Nov. 8 will translate into little cooperation with Democrats in the next two years.

According to Republican pollster Richard Wirthlin, if Republicans can match some of the high expectations for them in House and Senate elections, ``you're not going to see a benign environment.''

The former pollster for the Reagan White House told reporters at a Monitor breakfast Friday that he would see a compromise between Republicans and the Clinton administration on welfare reform as unlikely. But on issues of broad consensus, ``things can still get done.''

``The challenge for Clinton will be to play that card very adroitly,'' he said. Clinton could either begin to lower expectations and pursue a limited agenda or launch an aggressive campaign against a do-nothing Congress.

Mr. Wirthlin believes that Clinton needs to get something through Congress for his own reelection credibility in 1996, so a ``slash and burn'' campaign against Congress, especially in 1995, would be risky.