Shutdown: Washington Reaches Deal, Raising Debt Limit, Re-Opening Government

Obama wants new approach after shutdown (CNN)

Washington (CNN) -- Is it a model for bipartisan governance or a short-term solution that only hardened long-held positions?

Democrats and Republicans had wildly different takes on Thursday on the agreement passed by Congress and signed by President Barack Obama that ended the 16-day partial shutdown of the government and averted a possible U.S. default.

Hundreds of thousands of federal workers returned to their jobs across the country and national monuments such as the Gateway Arch in St. Louis reopened under the agreement considered a victory for Obama because it lacked substantive changes to his signature health care reforms targeted by conservatives.

In a tough and somber statement, the President challenged the Republican right to drop its anti-government ideology and change how business gets done in Washington.