The election of the speaker, Ayad al-Sammaraie, a Sunni Arab lawmaker who has until now headed Parliament's Finance Committee, is expected to break a legislative gridlock, but could also lead to new confrontations with the government of Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki.
Though the interview had some light moments, the host was characteristically tough in his questioning of the president, pushing him to explain the administration's shifting accounts of the Libya attack, the negative tone of his campaign, the trade-offs between American values and national security interests, and whether he would be able to break Washington gridlock in a second term.
Pakistan Today said the Sharif visit conveyed a positive message: "Pakistan and India have a historic opportunity to break the gridlock".
The only thing that can break gridlock is a return by the millions of moderate Republicans who abandoned ship when the social conservatives moved in and told them they weren't RED enough to stay.
Speaking to 4,000 supporters at a high school in Mentor, Ohio, Mr. Obama tried to square a circle, insisting he was both a familiar, trustworthy leader and an insurgent who could break the gridlock in Washington.
Some years ago, he came up with an idea to break the gridlock.
Hillary would help elect more Democrats to the House and Senate in a government that must break the gridlock for any president to govern effectively.
Jeff is nationally recognized as a reformer working to break Congressional gridlock and reform the Senate so it will be more responsive to the needs of ordinary middle class families.
As your representative, I will work in an bipartisan way to break the gridlock in Washington and get results for our communities.
"This election is the second chance to be what he promised in 2008, and that is to break the gridlock in Washington," said Kenneth M. Duberstein, a Reagan White House chief of staff, who voted for Mr. Obama in 2008 and later expressed disappointment.
