Escaping gridlock's deadly grasp

Flying together in the Marine One helicopter, President Obama and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie assess Hurricane Sandy damage. /White House photo


The Fiscal Cliff, a sputtering global economy and Iranian nuclear ambitions are huge problems. But President Obama's biggest second-term challenge will be finding a way to work legislation through the U.S. House of Representatives, which is controlled by a conservative Republican majority.

The stakes are far larger than Obama's legacy, the jockeying for pole positions in the 2016 presidential race and even the recovery of the U.S. economy from the Great Recession. The paralyzing gridlock that characterized Obama's first term has called into question the ability of the U.S. government to function effectively. In addition to being the world's largest economy, international and domestic investors have long looked to the United States as a safe haven for their money and other capital because of the enduring and predictable nature of America's democratic system of government.

In a nutshell, a revitalized U.S. economy is only part of what is required to renew confidence in the United States at home and abroad. Political leaders in Washington and state houses across the country must find ways to work together to solve problems. They must prove that the good of the country outweighs the good of their parties.

Capital and labor are more mobile than ever before in the history of civilization. If you have money to invest or are looking for a job, the United States is far from your only option. We've already seen millions of U.S. jobs outsourced to cheaper labor markets. With the ongoing errosion of confidence in the U.S. government, one of the biggest dangers facing the United States now is the allocation of capital to other countries such as Brazil, India and Russia.

In his farewell address as president of the United States, George Washington warned of the dangers political parties pose to the functioning of a democracy:

I have already intimated to you the danger of parties in the State, with particular reference to the founding of them on geographical discriminations. Let me now take a more comprehensive view, and warn you in the most solemn manner against the baneful effects of the spirit of party generally.

This spirit, unfortunately, is inseparable from our nature, having its root in the strongest passions of the human mind. It exists under different shapes in all governments, more or less stifled, controlled, or repressed; but, in those of the popular form, it is seen in its greatest rankness, and is truly their worst enemy.

U.S. democracy's "worst enemy" is stronger than ever and threatens the country's standing as one of the greatest nations on Earth.