Dear President Obama, future Speaker of the House Boehner, and Congress-elect:

Look underneath your seats. You’ll discover a pamphlet titled, ‘Bipartisan Coexistence: What it Means for You, 2010 Ed.’

The previous few editions didn’t sink in with their target audience, so you’ll have to excuse the powers that be for making this one nice and dense.

Please, read through it and understand its contents before the end of the current lame duck session. We’re going through quite a turbulent time as a nation, and if we are going to prosper, it’s important that our prospective leaders know how to cooperate and work together toward a common goal.

Since many of you won’t take time out of your busy schedules to read through the thick user’s guide to bipartisanship, here it is in a few short words:

Bipartisanship is marked by cooperation, agreement and compromise between major political parties.

So start there. You’ve all received primary, secondary and higher education. You presumably know how to cooperate with those who may be different than you, right?

To catalyze this cooperative process, we need to remove some lingo from our politico-vernacular. Let’s start with the phrase ‘winning back the House.’

Was the House ever up for grabs? Could I have won it?

Up until last Tuesday, a majority of Congress members in the House affiliated themselves with the Democratic Party. In a few short months, a majority of Congress members in the House will affiliate themselves with the Republican Party.

Nobody has won it, nobody has lost it. The House of Representatives is a shared entity. Everyone who resides in it, and all whom they represent, have a stake in it.

Let’s also scrap that saying ‘America has spoken.’ The only things Americans have vocalized are their frustrations with 9.6 percent unemployment rates, endlessly dead-end overseas violence and what seems like a perpetual stalemate in Washington.

They simply want leaders who can work towards ameliorating these issues, leaders they all hope you will be.

President Obama, classy move extending the hand of friendship to Mr. Boehner on Election Day. But it will take more than a phone call to get the legislative process moving.

You’re going to have to make compromises ‘ a lot of them. But you aren’t the first. Like those before you, including Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan, presidents have seen the opposition party become the majority in Congress during their first term.

And they apparently saw the light of day in the second term.

Though common knowledge says most political action is fueled by the desire for re-election, let’s hope you go against the grain, Mr. President.

Disguised in the potential schism between a Democratic White House and Senate and a Republican House is your unique opportunity to invigorate the legislative process.

I’m not asking you to sacrifice your values, but tap into that character and charisma you displayed throughout the 2008 campaign, and channel it toward making some real progress and compromise with your new Congress.

And Speaker-Elect Boehner, hold your ground, but don’t be blinded by ambition. You will be eager to push forward legislation indicative of the GOP’s needs, but don’t forget about the 188 Democrats with whom you share the floor.

Most of all, don’t ignore the beckoning of President Obama. He is your boss, and whether or not you agree with his ideals, you must support him and cooperate with him.

To have all of these new, different ideas swirling around in Washington is healthy progress. But if you, the bearers of these ideas, don’t function properly, intra-branch and inter-branch warfare is imminent.

You are the leaders we elected not to bicker endlessly, but to embrace bipartisanship. The voters have already sealed our fates, now it’s up to you to ensure we travel the righteous path.

Sincerely, Jordan