Considering the sorry state of affairs in our nation’s capital, we aren’t particularly hopeful about today’s six-hour summit on health care reform at Washington’s famous Blair House. That shouldn’t keep our U.S. senators and representatives — assuming they’re even involved — from trying to prove us wrong and working constructively for the betterment of all on this divisive topic.

That means both sides seeking common ground on an issue that has become symbolic of government’s inability to function, its failure to grasp basic free-enterprise concepts and its neglect of such issues as the $1.6 trillion deficit — an issue that seems to worry Americans far more these days than details of the $950 billion health care bill that President Barack Obama has cobbled together.

Given the significance of health care reform, can we expect our leaders to skip political showmanship and engage in genuine dialogue? Can we expect real give-and-take, allowing health care reform to proceed to a point that lawmakers can dispense with needlessly incendiary talk of budget reconciliation as a way to pass into law what is now a flawed bill?

We find out today. Signs suggest everyone involved is greatly concerned about one side having more of an advantage than the other on TV. Reports indicate that, mere hours before the summit, Republicans and Democrats squabbled over everything from the shape of the table where leaders will sit to whether the president sticks around for the buffet lunch.

Republicans insisted no podiums be placed in the hall. They’re reportedly concerned that Americans not perceive that the president is lecturing the GOP — even if he is.

Sounds like they’ve done their homework on seating arrangements and how things look on TV. Have they done their homework, we wonder, about health care reform itself so they can forcefully articulate their points to Democrats and the president?

The Republicans have strong, viable arguments against health care reform as proposed by Democrats, including concerns over the lack of controls for runaway medical costs, to the bad idea of the federal government regulating insurance premium hikes. Yet we expect Republicans to show they’re serious about this summit by compromising on some of their points if the Democrats do the same.

One thing about political spin: Once upon a time, some of us might not have recognized it so easily. But this year the public has had its fill of it. If lawmakers on either side of the table begin spinning and playing to the cameras rather than working for the public’s betterment, Americans may pick up on it — and would be justified in spinning such hucksters right out of office.