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.

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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.

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