ABSTRACT
The obstruction of the constitutional mechanism must be overcome, and it is the party that casts a web, at times weak, at times strong, over the dispersed organs of government and gives them a semblance of unity. Stalemate and conflicting actions, rather than vigor and complementary actions, are to be expected given that no single party has controlled all branches of government. A party can unify government if it wins control of both the executive and the legislative branches. The extent to which different party nuclei face different electoral contexts is the primary explanation given for the recent frequency of divided government. The outcome itself was terrible for both sides: the Democrats particularly feared the damage to their domestic programs, and Bush especially loathed the cuts in defense spending. The important thing to note about what the president apparently got out of his recantation on taxes is that it benefited him, not congressional Republicans.
