BILL CLINTON AND TRENT LOTT, the Senate majority leader, are the two most important politicians in Washington, and, from all evidence, they really like each other. They’ve talked about ten times since the election — about the balanced-budget amendment, Medicare, tax cuts, and education. Twice, the president has called Lott specifically about a controversial chemical-weapons treaty. He also phoned on December 26 while Lott was home in Pascagoula, Miss. , to talk about the budget and Newt Gingrich’s ethics woes and to wish him a merry Christmas. Two weeks later, Lott was paged by the White House as he sat in the office of Senate minority leader Tom Daschle; he returned to his own office for a friendly conversation with the president.

This is a far cry from Clinton’s testy relationship with Lott’s predecessor, Bob Dole. Indeed, Clinton and Lott may share the coziest relationship of any president and opposition leader since Dwight Eisenhower and Sam Rayburn. While their talks aren’t always substantative — “We’re not writing a budget over the phone,” says Lott — they are especially significant because the White House has problematic relations with House minority leader Richard Gephardt, a likely presidential opponent of Al Gore’s in 2000. Also, the nowdiminished Gingrich is a bitter Clinton foe.