Washington ? After demonizing each other on the campaign trail, President Bush and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi met over plates of pasta Thursday at the White House and agreed to seek common ground on Iraq and other national problems.

The bipartisan pledges of cooperation generated considerable skepticism in Washington, a city accustomed to partisan warfare. But Bush has reached effectively across party lines before, both as governor of Texas and early in his presidency.

“We won’t agree on every issue,” Bush said after the lunch. “But we do agree that we love America equally, that we’re concerned about the future of this country and that we will do our very best to address big problems.”

Pelosi, a California liberal who’s in line to become speaker of the House of Representatives, said she would use her leadership role to represent “all of the House, not just the Democrats.”

Some Democrats who have worked with Bush in the past said Tuesday’s elections brought out a side of him that’s been missing in recent years.

Former Texas state Rep. Paul Sadler, a Democrat who considers Bush a friend, said he was puzzled by the style the president adopted when he moved to Washington in 2000. “It’s almost like he was hijacked,” Sadler said.