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During last year's presidential campaign, "change" was Barack Obama's continuing theme. In particular, he pledged to change the political culture in Washington and to work in a bipartisan spirit, because "politicians divide the country into blue states and red states, and afterwards, they can't govern." Obviously, many presidents talked about bipartisanship, but the expectation to unite the country is extremely high these days.

In the first weeks of his presidency, Obama tried to make good on this promise: he met with key GOP senators and congressmen, appointed three Republicans to his cabinet (of which one dropped out) and dined with leading conservative journalists. Yet, the $789 billion stimulus bill, which is set to pass Congress in the coming days, put Obama's promise to its first real test.

Even though the Democrats have a congressional majority, Obama reached out to the GOP. One reason was to avoid filibuster (which was unlikely to happen in the first place, because the GOP didn't want to be blamed for aggravating the crisis). But another reason clearly was to demonstrate an inclusive leadership style. The result is a bill that, even if gigantic in historic terms, is smaller that both the House and the Senate had proposed. Many consider the mix of investments, funding, tax breaks and aid to state and local governments too small and too unfocused. Moreover, bipartisanship didn't really work: no Republican congressman and only 3 Republican senators voted for the package. Accordingly, Democrats were angry that they had to renegotiate the bill without winning significant Republican support.

What does this mean for the chances of bipartisanship? On both sides, the partisan tone in Washington is evident. Rush Limbaugh, a radio host who seems to assume the role of GOP leader, already declared that he wanted Obama to fail. Pete Sessions, a congressman from Texas, proposed a "Taliban-like" insurgence strategy to destroy the Democrat's agenda. On the other side of the aisle, Eugene Robinson, a liberal columnist for the Washington Post, gave equally destructive advice to the Democrats: "Roll over the Republicans," if that is what it takes to preserve your own agenda. Others, such as Bob Shrum, a strategist in the Gore and Kerry campaigns, refuse to even acknowledge the sincerity of the other party's arguments by stating: "Facts don't matter to the GOP."

Why do both parties behave the way they do? For the Republicans, the stimulus package is the perfect opportunity to reassure themselves of their identity and common creed, consisting in fiscal discipline and small government. Because the Bush administration and the 2008 primary season left them much more at odds with each other than the Democrats, they are still in a process of self-discovery, both philosophically and strategically. And after the crushing defeat in November, they feel that the stronger they oppose Obama, the better they'll be able bounce back. The Democrats, on the other hand, clearly have a sense of mandate and urgency: "Our time has come," Obama told them on election night, and to them, their time has come to implement what they think is necessary - no matter what the Republicans say.

As with most political moves, both sides have common-sense policy arguments that help justify their actions: of course, the stimulus bill widens the deficit, it increases the role of government at all levels, it has a lot of pork spending attached to it, and it tries to implement many parts of the Democrats social agenda. These are four good reasons for Republicans to oppose it, all - by the way - consistent with John McCain's campaign promises. Democrats have a point as well: As the party in charge, they have to do something both responsible and effective do deal with the economic crisis. And after all, American voters did elect Obama at least partly because they trust him and his team to solve the crisis, which legitimizes their actions.

So has bipartisanship failed before it even began? Probably not: if Obama wants to reform health care, energy policy and the education system, he will need the support of the GOP. But this week was a reminder that it will be hard to overcome differences of principle and culture.

Fabian Wendenburg is account director at the Brunswick Group in Berlin, Germany.

Related materials from the Atlantic Community:

• Rüdiger Lentz: The New Feel of Washington
• André Budick: The Return of the N-beast
• Jordan Michael Smith: Making Europe's Relationship With Obama More Than a Flirt