Like many in Europe I used to think (and blog) that the American system of government was dysfunctional and out of date and would only work if one party had a majority in both Houses and occupied the White House. I also thought that there was some kind of ideological divide between Republicans and Democrats, that went beyond the first leaning towards conservatism and the second to a more liberal drive in Federal policy. My grandparents were naturalised Americans, although my widowed grandmother returned to the UK and lived with us in my childhood. I remember her fuming all over the house when news came in that Truman had held onto the Presidency in 1948, in spite of early calling of a Dewey win. My grandparents were Republicans.
I now have a better idea of what is going on because an American friend explained that there are only two drivers in American politics; Government or Opposition. And the Constitution had been so organised at Federal level with so many checks and balances that unless there was either a majority or a consensus, nothing could happen. When I thought about it, everything then made sense. Americans do not like to be governed at all and if it is to happen it must be a deal that everybody buys into. This is not what the spinners proclaim but it is what powers the American heart.
It can be put another way, although this will not be openly proclaimed. The schism which caused the Civil War was about sovereignty and power and it is still there. It was not just a split in the interpretation of the constitution and the nature of the union; the split exists within the psyche of all Americans outside the big cities. America is a Confederate heart ruled by a Federal head. This strange tension has produced the richest, most advanced and powerful nation on earth. So none can say it does not work. Those Founding Fathers knew their stuff.