It will be fascinating to see how newly re-elected Republican Gov. Linda Lingle and newly invigorated Democratic majorities in the state House and Senate deal with each other this coming year.

Politically, these are the stakes:

Lingle has a chance to begin to set into stone a GOP legacy that will last long after her next four years are over. This includes making appointments (including key judicial appointments) that will linger long after her term, patronage choices for boards and commissions that will sprinkle Republican loyalists throughout state government, and policy choices that will be difficult to reverse.

Democrats have a shot at setting bold policy initiatives that might make the Lingle governorship look largely irrelevant, a hiccup in the ongoing Democratic Party control of the nation's youngest state. This is tricky business, because to be successful, they must come up with ideas and proposals that don't look like mere obstructionism.

Early indications are that the two sides will treat each other gingerly. Lingle knows she needs to work with a strong Democratic majority to make anything happen.

She had luck working across party lines as mayor of Maui and clearly knows how to cut through the middle, politically.

She has signaled a more conciliatory tone.

Democrats know that while they hold most of the political cards, they are dealing with an enormously popular governor who clearly stands for something the voting public wants. If they arbitrarily use their potent political strength to simply stonewall Lingle and her team, the public will see through it in no time.

Lingle has the first shot at setting the tone and scene tomorrow, when she delivers her second inaugural address. It will not be a major policy speech; rather it will be a somewhat more personal look at philosophy, goals and dreams for the state's future.

The next step comes on opening day in mid-January, when House Speaker Calvin Say and newly installed Senate president Colleen Hanabusa will sketch out Democratic Party plans. Considering the strength of their numbers, it should be a fairly vigorous agenda.

Then Lingle comes back with her State of the State speech the following Monday, which is expected to be much more focused on specific policy ideas and proposals.

Lingle is a Republican and the Legislature firmly Democratic, but it's no automatic recipe for stalemate.

After all, even Democratic governors over the years have had more than their share of frustration and rejection from legislatures of their own party. Just ask former Gov. Ben Cayetano about that.

From the public's standpoint, the power plays mean less than what finally transpires. The basic agenda is clear: Education, housing (and homelessness), economic diversification, protection of agriculture and vital environmental sites, and so forth.

The trick is in coming up with ideas that have lasting impact and will shape the course of Hawai'i for years to come.

The side that best accomplishes that will "own" this session and the political high ground.

Reach Jerry Burris at jburris@honoluluadvertiser.com.