AO1: State of the Union address can be used by presidents to try to influence the political agenda of the party in control of Congress. AO2: This is because it can help sway public opinion and the media to the president's side. AO3: This puts additional pressure on party members to introduce/support passing the president's legislative proposals, particularly in an election year. AO1: Public, media and international focus on the president as head of state, and therefore his/her agenda. AO2: This focus can give the president the ability to launch national or international policy to gain direct support and bypass their party. AO3: This can give the president more leverage to influence policies and ideas when negotiating with party leaders in Congress as they can demonstrate support from media outlets and world leaders for their agenda. AO1: Because of the separation of powers, the party in control of Congress need to work with president to pass their own policy agenda (to prevent vetoes). AO2: This is particularly important in a time of divided government, when party leaders in Congress are reliant on their relationship with the president to pass legislation. AO3: As presidents have no formal power over members of Congress, it is vital that s/he maintains good relationships with party leaders. AO1: The nature of 'personality politics' in USA means that there is more focus on the individual than the party, during both legislative sessions and election time. AO2: This allows presidents to offer support for the personal agenda of individual party members or to party leaders in return for support for their legislative programme. AO3: Which can be seen as most effective in allowing the president to influence the policies and ideas of political parties when the president's party controls both houses.

AO1: Parties can and do work together, independent of presidential influence, on creating national policy agendas. AO2: This is particularly significant when a president of the opposing party is in office e.g. Contract with America, 6 for 06, Trump and the federal shutdown over funding for the Mexico border wall. AO3: This can mean that presidents with divided government facing a united opposition will find it difficult to gain the support needed in Congress to pass their agenda as the opposition may be more focused on passing their polices instead. AO1: Parties can also work together to oppose divisive or controversial policy, e.g. Bush and funding for the war in Iraq, Trump and healthcare reform. AO2: Weak party discipline allows this, as US parties tend to be broad-based coalitions rather than united around a national policy agenda. AO3: This makes it harder for presidents to influence party policy as s/he is not seen as the head of the party and cannot control individual party members. AO1: Interest groups can have a more significant impact than the presidential power of persuasion on party policies, especially PACs and Super-PACs. AO2: Parties - and particularly individuals who are running for election - rely on interest group support and funding to run successful campaigns. AO3: This has led to party members acting in opposition to the president - even if he is from the same party - in order to maintain support from interest groups who fund them. AO1: The influence of voters on the policies and ideas of individual members of a political party can also be a more significant influence, particularly in an election year. AO2: Party candidates must appeal directly to their constituents during elections, and cannot rely on the appeal of the president's platform to gain them votes. AO3: This is especially important for members of the House of Representatives, who tend to be elected based on local rather than national issues, whereas presidents tend to be more focused on national issues during elections that may not appeal to all states or districts.