Talking about “common ground” is the “in” thing in dysfunctional Washington these days. Yet about the only real common ground actually found in our nation’s capital is when Democratic and Republican lobbyists merge their firms. Every governor, every seasoned executive, knows that making things happen takes a lot more than mouthing nice words. True common ground isn’t found in public, although civility in public makes progress in private a lot easier. Common ground is found in hard and frank discussion behind closed doors to work out real differences.

America faces more crucial issues than at any other point in most of our lifetimes. All the talk about finding common ground, as long as it is only talk, is simply another way to avoid facing up to them. Inside the Beltway, they are not talking about exactly how to get to energy independence because it is tough. They are not talking about failing schools and falling infrastructure because they are tough, and expensive. They are not even talking about the coming entitlements for retiring baby-boomers, who will surely send the budget deficit to disastrous levels. Alan Greenspan says that issue alone might take a third party to deal with.

Those are the issues, together with the terrorist jihad aimed right at us, that make this the most important election in decades. We’ve got some bedrock decisions to make, and pretending we don’t is a very poor option.

The fact that none of those issues, including terrorism, will be solved without common ground between leaders in both parties is the reason that many of us have supported the concept of a Unity Ticket drawn from both parties (perhaps including an Independent), nominated in the first-ever online convention at Unity08.com in June 2008.

The idea of a president and vice-president from different parties takes a little getting used to. But it happens regularly in a number of American states where the governor and lieutenant governor are elected separately. And it could have happened at the national level three years ago, if Senator McCain had accepted a certain offer from Senator Kerry.

I hope the numerous good presidential candidates in both parties think about it: A unity ticket bringing the best of both parties to the White House — and recruiting more idealistic and energetic members from both parties to lead in our toughest times. Nothing would change the atmosphere more quickly in Washington than the people’s choice of a unity ticket to lead our country — a unity ticket both to bring civility back to government and to make sure that public servants all feel part of something bigger than themselves or their party.

Can it change things? Of course it can. Instead of the parties in Congress being constantly at war with each other, a unity team in the White House could guide them into finding common ground on health care, for example, within a matter of weeks.

And then they can move on to the really tough ones. If China is doing a better job of educating their children in our technology than we are, can’t we give quality teaching a priority worthy of the world’s only superpower? If a president can use the bully pulpit to tell us everything is OK, can’t he or she use it to nudge, maybe push, maybe shove Detroit into driving us into a new energy age? If government can’t maintain our public infrastructure so it’s safe, should we call on the private sector to do it?

Governing from common ground doesn’t mean mush. It means finding workable solutions to big problems by finding all those in Washington who want to do the same, regardless of party. And by telling the rest: “Cool it with the superheated partisanship, we’re trying to get some business done here.”

It won’t happen if we don’t start thinking that way now. Before the first primary. Before wave after wave of attack ads roll in. Before a candidate or two are tempted to sew up their nomination by promising the V.P. slot to someone who can help them win but not help them govern.

A unity ticket. A good idea for tough times. And if the parties don’t do it themselves, the people may lead their leaders. Unity08.com is their opportunity.

Mr. Weld is a former federal prosecutor and governor of Massachusetts.