Control of Congress

Conservatives frequently blame the poor state of the economy on the Democrats. In particular, they will say that the Dems have control of both houses of Congress and the White House and that therefore "the buck stops there".

The problem with this statement (notwithstanding the fact that Obama inherited a huge deficit and high unemployment) is that it is not true. Control suggests the ability to take action, to do something. It's true that the Democratic party has control of the House and the White House, but it does not have control of the Senate. Since the GOP has decided that it's best policy is an obstructionist one, and since the Democrats do not have a super-majority in the Senate, no-one has control of that body. It is similar to what is known as a hung-parliament in the UK; one party may have more seats than another, but without enough to pass legislation that majority is meaningless.

It may seem weak blaming the GOP while the Democrats are in power, but when it was because of the Republicans that health-care reform took an entire year and eclipsed almost everything else; when it was because of the Republicans that the last jobs bill was $15bn instead of the $80bn it should have been; when it was because of the Republicans that unemployment insurance lapsed for millions recently; it's hard to see why they are not largely to blame.