''People around the world are confused. They are bemused. But they are not amused by what's happening,'' she said, adding that it is ''mission critical'' that the US sorts out its problems quickly.

The shutdown of the US government has highlighted the political gridlock in Washington DC. The machinery of government has been brought to a grinding halt by the intransigence of a cadre of conservative Republicans hell-bent on stopping President Barack Obama's healthcare reforms.

This move challenges the notions of democracy held so dear in America and has the potential for serious economic consequences. It will not, however, stop implementation of the Affordable Care Act, known colloquially as Obamacare.

Despite President Obama's clear mandate for his healthcare reforms and the concerns of both side of politics that voters will hold them responsible for the chaos, Tea Party members in the Congress (perhaps as few as 40 people among the 233 House Republicans) are wreaking havoc on nearly every aspect of American life.

For them and their supporters, blocking Obamacare is ''a simple, righteous vote for liberty''. The fact that 800,000 federal workers decreed to be non-essential have been furloughed is their proof of how bloated the government has become.

There are several reasons why the Tea Party holds such sway. Prime among these is that GOP congressional incumbents must constantly worry if there is a more conservative candidate waiting in the wings to challenge if they do not toe the Tea Party line on issues such as Obamacare.

Second is that House Speaker John Boehner, by nature a conciliator, has his hands bound by the so-called Hastert rule - the informal GOP rule that says a speaker should not seek to pass legislation without a majority of the House GOP behind him. And third, the ambivalence of most Americans to Obamacare over the past three years means there has been no outrage from voters at the Tea Party's stand.

All that may be about to change; indeed, it must change. Unwittingly, the Republicans provided the Obama administration with more publicity than it could have otherwise acquired for the launch of the state-based health insurance exchanges on October 1.

In the first three days of operation, 7 million people - almost one-third of those deemed eligible - visited the Obamacare exchanges, with a significant portion of these purchasing health insurance. Many were people who have not previously been able to afford health cover. It's a continuing good news story that will boost the popularity of Obamacare.

Republicans' lack of purpose and focus is highlighted by their inability to capitalise on the technical difficulties that have beset the health insurance exchanges. It's a bitter irony that a shutdown aimed at derailing Obamacare took attention from problems that the GOP could have exploited to build support for that very goal. The absence of real goals was highlighted by one Tea Party-backed lawmaker who said: ''We're not going to be disrespected. We have to get something out of this. And I don't know what that even is.''

And finally, with the deadline for raising the debt ceiling just two weeks off, anxious Republican leaders must begin steering the party away from the dead-end debate about Obamacare towards discussion about a broader deal to reduce the nation's debt. Speaker Boehner has indicated he may be willing to disregard the Hastert rule and risk the fury of conservatives by relying on a majority of Democratic votes and less than a majority of Republicans to pass a debt-ceiling increase.

Some political pundits suggest Boehner will be willing to take this political risk just once and not twice. So although 20 House Republicans have said they would support a bill to fund the government without any contentious amendments and if every Democrat voted for such a bill this would be enough bipartisan support for it to pass, Boehner is reluctant to pursue this solution.

Boehner's leadership is under intense scrutiny as his party takes most of the public's outrage and blame for Washington's dysfunction. Failure to resolve these issues quickly will have international consequences. President Obama said it colloquially: ''If we screw up, everybody gets screwed up. The whole world will have problems.''

Dr Lesley Russell is a research associate at the Menzies Centre for Health Policy at the University of Sydney.