The House Democrats, who are numerous enough to force compromises with the Governor, have usually adopted a bipartisan tone that is shared by their Republican colleagues.

Mr. Lott's warning that any attempts by Democrats to derail the nomination will poison the effort to set a new bipartisan tone in Congress is amusing but ultimately sad.

Acknowledging the Republicans' diminished role in the new political landscape, Mr. Bennett also sounded a decidedly bipartisan tone through much of his address.

Senator Fred Thompson, the Tennessee Republican who heads the panel, the Governmental Affairs Committee, had sought a bipartisan tone for this latest phase of the hearings.

"We think backward, we never think forward," he says, exemplifying the film's bipartisan tone.

By week's end, the charges had taken a bipartisan tone after news reports linked three other lawmakers to the drug trade.

Democrats have been cheered by Mr. Bush's new bipartisan tone in recent days and say they are willing to reciprocate.

It was given a bipartisan tone when Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, joined the request.

Although Mr. Bush has been railing against Congress for weeks, he tried to strike a bipartisan tone today.

Once known as a partisan, Mr. Perry instead cast himself as a conciliator, setting a bipartisan tone that earned him the respect of legislators and lobbyists.