ABSTRACT
Citizens, seeing their government besieged by seemingly uncontrollable events, have lost confidence in their leadership and institutions. Some trends have been positive. One feature of that structure is unique among the mature democratic nations, creating difficulties faced only in the United States. This is the separation and balance of powers between the executive and legislative branches. The president has the constitutional responsibility for conducting foreign relations, but the Congress has virtually unlimited means to intervene in any aspect at any time. On sensitive political issues—budget deficits and immigration as current examples—the three power centers are often unable to agree on necessary national decisions even when matters reach the crisis stage. The healthy party competition that is essential to democratic government erupts into bitter confrontation between the branches. The tendency toward stalemate and deadlock is accentuated—often to the point of paralysis.
