More seriously, The Economist has an interesting article on whether seeking bipartisan legislation is actually dead in the water.

And yet in the Washington think-tanks the passing of Ted Kennedy has revived a different debate. Is bipartisanship still feasible in today’s America? Is it even desirable? Pietro Nivola, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, has doubts on both counts. Grand bargains are harder in an age when both parties, but especially the Republicans, have become more ideological and cohesive. Congress no longer contains legions of conservative Democrats from the South or moderate Republicans from the north-east willing to make common cause—or laws. The gerrymandering of electoral districts has slashed the number of swing seats, forcing candidates to nurture their wild-eyed base, rather than reach out to moderates, to win their primaries. Religious polarisation has sharpened the gap between the parties, sucking believers into the Republican camp and driving the secular to the Democrats.

This relates to my perception that the president actually lacks the courage to stand forward on his platform. He got a mandate, and he has the votes in Congress. The USA now has a real party system. Since the GOP confine themselves to hysterical opposition, surely he should drive his agenda through - and sink or swim at the polls in four years.

Given the nature of the attacks on his policies and personality, the real change he should bring is to drop the fig-leaf of "consensus" and do what he promised the electorate. Let the Republicans repeal it if they ever regain power and feel the need so to do (which is rare over this side of the pond - such legislation always proves to be a good way of blaming the opposition for a decade).