Don't blame Obama. The US political system is broken

[CHIMO]

A recent political development in your country has me reflecting again on my country's political situation and wondering what on earth we Americans are going to do about a system that is irrefutably and almost irredeemably stuck in a state of paralysis.

I read about Alistair Darling's proposal for a bank bonus tax with great interest. I'm no expert on British politics, but from what I've read over the past week I've gathered that the City is upset and that the pre-budget report as a whole hasn't done especially well. And yet Guardian colleagues assure me there is no question the House of Commons will pass the budget. It's a party discipline vote, and Labour has the majority. End of story. That the Tories have signalled support is just icing on the cake.

Sigh. If you've been watching the Washington healthcare debate, you know what that sigh was about. We Americans have always been proud of our constitution and the principle of separation of powers. The system has always ensured that the minority party has certain rights and that the executive branch cannot just muscle through Congress any old thing that it wants. Our founders wanted a system that moved slowly.

Do they ever have it. In fact, we now have a system that barely moves at all. Watching American politics through British eyes, you must be utterly mystified as to why Barack Obama hasn't gotten this healthcare bill passed yet. Many Americans are too. The instinctive reflex is to blame Obama. He must be doing something wrong. Maybe he is doing a thing or two wrong. But the main thing is that America's political system is broken.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2009/dec/13/america-broken-political-system-obama

[patrice]

1. One reason it is broken is that there are too many ignorant in-active voters.

And too many Democrats seem to regard the party largely as a social activity, rather than as an active ongoing responsibility, not just in election years.