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President Obama's budget is being released today and is drawing criticism from both the left and the right. That must be a positive sign.

For fans of governance, there are other encouraging developments coming from the Senate. Unlike the House Republicans, led by Speaker Boehner who declared the President's budget "dead on arrival" last week before actually seeing it, some Republican senators such as Lindsey Graham and Johnny Issakson have publically taken a wait-and-see attitude. With these and other Republicans, including some House members, expressing a willingness to discuss additional revenues now that the President has put changes to Social Security and Medicare on the table, the possibility that we are enetering a period of negotiation, compromise and- pinch me- real governance appears to be a reality.

Couple this with the other bipartisan noises we are hearing, again coming mostly from the Senate. There is the push to get some type of immigration reform done.  And this morning, we have the announcement of a plan on gun control, specifically background checks and the "gun show loophole", by Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Pat Toomey (R-Pa). This let's-get-something-done giddiness is apparently contagious, because there are reports that Rep. Peter King, a Republican, plans to introduce the Manchin-Toomey bill in the House.

Even more incredulous, with 14 Republican Senators, including minority leader Mitch McConnell, threatening to filibuster any gun control legislation, a sufficient number of the remaining Republicans are evidently willing to allow debate to proceed that Majority Leader Harry Reid will bring it to a vote.

Praise Jesus, y'all. The gubment gonna govern.