When a do-nothing Congress collides with a president paralyzed by scandal, something does not necessarily have to give. But before this blame game over the stalled federal budget and the potential for a government shutdown goes into sudden death, both sides should give the country one thing at least — a break.

Congress adjourned for the month without passing any of the 13 appropriations bills that make up the budget, with the impasse largely due to a squabble among Republicans on whether half an ideological loaf is better than none. President Clinton has aggravated the situation by threatening to veto seven of those bills as they now stand because they don’t go far enough in promoting his agenda.

The GOP hard-liners, remembering how badly they lost the public-opinion battle during the 1995 shutdown, accuse the president of playing hardball to deflect attention from his Lewinsky crisis. All the president’s men accuse the hard-liners of hoping the combined weight of the Lewinsky crisis, delayed Social Security checks and closed national parks will send those rising approval ratings into a tailspin.

Unlike 1995 shutdown, which was a partisan affair all the way, this time the cause of congressional logjam is mostly due to disagreement between moderate and conservative Republicans. Moderates have left the party fold on numerous issues lately, from campaign-finance reform to arts funding, and the arguing continues on budgetary matters, such as support for the International Monetary Fund.

While this split and the new, altogether healthy coalition between moderates of both parties could lead to a sudden outbreak of common sense and avert a shutdown, there’s a good chance Republicans will enjoy unparalleled unity if given the opportunity to really stick it to a damaged president right before an election. Confronting the president with spending bills he’s already sworn to veto would be a way to do that.

For his part, President Clinton has no business drawing any lines in the sand with an agenda that’s going nowhere. Presidents usually veto spending bills because they contain all manner of congressional pork and so they should. This president is threatening veto because the bills don’t include all of the extra money he wants for child care, education and a host of other initiatives. These may well be “critical investments,” as he calls them, but no one in his current predicament should expect to get everything he wants. And if what he really wants is another government shutdown that can be pinned on heartless Republicans, he probably won’t get that either.

When Congress reconvenes in September, it will have just one month to pass, reconcile and get signed 13 spending bills. There simply is not enough time. What it must do, then, first thing after Labor Day is pass a continuing resolution that keeps the government running at current levels. The bickering will go on, but at least it won’t come at the expense of elderly widows or tourists who drove all that way to see Old Faithful.