US Elections Analysis: The "Fiscal Cliff" and the Races for the New Congress

A Democratic ad criticises Minnesota Republican Chip Cravaack for his opposition to President Obama's health care plan

See also US Elections Video: Obama or Romney? And Does It Make Any Difference? --- "Seminar" at the University of Birmingham

---

The first two debates between President Obama and Mitt Romney have been political theatre at its most dramatic –-- whether a comedy or a tragedy depends on the audience you ask --- but their dominance of the headline has obscured an answer to the most important question of this election year.

Will the next p#President, whoever he is, be able to work with the newly-elected Congress and find a legislative solution to the problems he will face immediately upon taking office?

The “fiscal cliff”, and America's headlong rush over it, approaches; however, amidst the daily controversies over funding for Big Bird and Mitt Romney's “binders full of women”, neither candidate has addressed how he will work with a partisan Congress to avoid the scheduled tax rises and spending cuts that will not only plunge the American economy into another recession but exacerbate the economic slowdown around the globe.

Click to read more ...

US Politics: Can Obama Use a "New Discourse" To Take Control of the State of the Union?

If President Obama can continue his recent "bold leadership and prophetic eloquence" in the State of the Union Address, he has the opportunity to override the bickering in the House of Representatives, imprinting an indelible impression in the minds of the 77% of Americans who believe that compromise is a worthy objective. No one should be naïve enough to think that politics will not return to the heated debate that marked the last Congress, but on 25 January Obama could don the mantle of representing the "silent majority" of moderates of both parties –-- and Independents --– in the US.

Click to read more ...

The Arizona Shootings: Getting to the Missing Point --- "It's Guns, Stupid" (Matlin)

The repercussions and the debate around this episode will continue for years. But you can be certain that a question  poseed elsewhere --- “Where did the alleged attacker Jared Lee Loughner get the gun?” --- will not be a priority in America. From The New York Times to The Washington Post to CNN and MNSBC, this query was not being posed, let alone answered. No one wants to touch the subject of gun ownership. It has become the third rail of politics.

Click to read more ...

US Politics Analysis: America Boldly Moves Ahead with "Parliamentary" Gridlock

During the next Congress, which begins in January, we will witness a new politics. There is a change in the way business is done in Washington, brought about by the modern communications revolution.

The traditional role of backroom compromise and negotiation, which epitomised the American two-party system of government, is over. By accident rather than design, the US is setting out on a road that will end in the nation developing a parliamentary-style government, where the party in the minority oppose the policies of the majority administration almost automatically. For the foreseeable future, the US will be characterised by divisive and acrimonious politics on a scale never before seen.

Click to read more ...