In an age when Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill are usually at dagger's ends with one another, discussion of a bipartisan approach to foreign policy sounds frivolous — if not downright out of the question.
But historian and author Lawrence Haas can envision precisely that in 2017: a revival of the cooperation on a foreign policy between politicians of different party, as well as between the White House and Congress.
The "players" in Haas' drama would be Republican Donald Trump and Maryland Sen. Ben Cardin, second-ranked Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
"[Cardin] is pretty centrist and more mainstream than other Democrats in the Senate," said Haas, onetime communications director to former Vice President Al Gore. He told us that Trump and Cardin could work together on such issues as "a realistic approach to the Putin government," and fresh looks at the Iran nuclear deal and China.
Such teamwork would be nothing short of a "remake" of the partnership Haas brought to life in his recent, much-praised book, "Harry and Arthur: Truman, Vandenberg, and the Partnership That Created the Free World."
Almost from the day he succeeded the deceased Franklin D. Roosevelt as president in 1945, Democrat Truman worked closely with Sen. Arthur Vandenberg, R.-Mich., ranking Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Their joint projects were the breath-taking issues of the post-World War II world, including creating of the United Nations and facing down possible advances by the Soviet Union in Greece and Turkey.
Rich in aphorisms and in-depth research, "Harry and Arthur" vividly revives the noble-yet-distant figures of post-war Washington.
Truman, Vandenberg, Secretaries of State George C. Marshall and Dean Acheson, U.S. Ambassador to Moscow George Kennan (who first sounded the alarm bell about the Soviet Union's nefarious designs on Europe) — all come to life again for a younger generation and politically-minded readers.
Most significantly, "Harry and Arthur" underscores how timely the alliance between the moderate-to-liberal Democratic president and conservative Republican senator proved to be.
When Republicans took control of Congress following the 1946 midterm elections, Vandenberg became president pro term of the Senate as well as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee.
The Marshall Plan, to rescue Europe from economic collapse, "would demand Vandenberg's collaboration and legislative skills to steer through Congress."
The Michigander came through, with the Senate giving its blessing to the Marshall Plan by a vote of 69 to 17 and the U.S. giving $13.3 billion to 16 Western European nations from 1948-51.
So, what could Trump and Cardin cooperate on in the coming years?
"[Trump] has said some naïve things on Russia and Cardin might just bring him around to a more realistic approach regarding the U.S. attitude toward the Putin government," Haas said, adding that the last two U.S. presidents' attempted a "reset" policy with Russia and "both were sorely disappointed."
Recalling recent statements by Trump and Cardin, Haas said he also believes that the two could work together on "forging the best way to address terrorism 15 years after 9/11," a fresh approach to China under Xi Jinping, and how to deal with Turkey's unpredictable strongman Recep Tayyip Erdogan ("a small version of Putin").
"It certainly isn't out of the question," he told us, "not any more than the thought of Truman and Vandenberg working closely together was in 1945."
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax.
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