What's the Name of the Game? Cooperation

The separation of powers in the United States governing system creates interesting power dynamics. As a result of the separation of powers, Presidents have to rely on the Legislative Branch to cooperate with them in order to achieve their policy goals. In a way, this gives the Congressional leaders enormous power, especially in the more structured House of Representatives.

This need for cooperation between the Speaker of the House and the President is unique to American politics. In a Parliamentary system, there is no separation between the legislative and executive branches. Whatever policy the Prime Minister wants to enact will become law. In the United States, the President is not guaranteed passage of his policies.

This need for cooperation can be seen now in the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi (CA-D) and President Barack Obama. Without Pelosi's help in garnering votes, the President's policies have little chance of making it through Congress and to his desk. At the same time, having the President's support, can be beneficial to Pelosi in getting legislation passed.

Is this need for cooperation a asset or a hindrance to American politics? I believe the need for cooperation that stems from the separation of powers is an asset to American politics. Without this need, the President could go unchecked in enacting legislation, which would make him more or less the same tyrant our Founding Fathers revolted against. While it makes difficult for legislation to be passed, it provides a greater incentive for bipartisanship (although, that was not the Founding Fathers' original intent), which could allow the needs of all citizens to be considered in negotiations.