If the U.S. is not your home country you might be well advised to stay out of a political discussion, wherever you may be, until you are absolutely certain it is wise to do so. It is no secret that American politics have been a touchy subject for years, and the issues are best approached with caution.
People throughout the world have been understandably interested in American presidential politics, perhaps even more so since the nomination and election of President Barack Obama. If you do plan to get into a discussion on American politics when travelling there, it would be advantagous to do some research before you go, and know at least some of the positions of the different people you may meet.
Often, it is hard to get a truly balanced and fair view of both sides of the issues by simply listening to international news, no matter how good the coverage in your country may be. Reading articles from The New York Times, The Miami Herald, The Wall Street Journal, Fox News and CNN are good places to start -- or just read articles on American politics from Google News (filter for those from American newspapers), and by researching statistics online (government sources are generally the most reliable.) All this should give you a good range of both conservative and liberal views on American issues. Reading political opinion blogs or watching cable TV pundits can be helpful to judge the political temperature of the moment, but should be viewed as just that -- opinion, not news. Editorializing and sensationalizing of political issues has become extremely popular in the past few years, and very profitable for the stations and pundits who create these shows and blogs.
The United States is sensitive politically due to the divisiveness that has been wedged between the Republican and Democratic parties over the past decade, and a culture war that has been going on for even longer than that. There is a vast range in how people live from region to region – rural/conservative vs. liberal/urban, immigrant vs. nativists, rich vs. poor, religious vs. secular. Today in America, many news stories relating to these cultural divides are provoking everyday citizens into big debates, so visitors would be well advised to figure out when and where their opinions would be welcome.
Some areas -- particularly Texas, the South, and Midwest -- are deeply religious. Some connect their religious beliefs to political ones, making issues such as abortion, the war in Iraq, capital punishment, or gay marriage impossible to debate. These issues are currently so contentious that nobody seems willing to change or even compromise their position, both on the streets and in political offices. When discussing these topics, bear in mind that some have lost their lives, loved ones, and livelihoods over these issues. Remember that the culture and acceptance around discussing politics in your home country may be very different than it is in America, where polite conversation sometimes does not include topics such as politics or religion.
However, politically, this is a very important time for America: there are issues regarding immigration, border security, credit crunch, recession with many people on the verge of losing their homes. Americans may want to engage you on these issues to get an international perspective, and you may end up enlightening many to a world view that they haven't experienced before. A general rule of thumb that is always good to follow: Wait until your opinion has been solicited before you offer it, especially when it comes to politics.
Of course, use common sense above all. If you decide to go loudly and drunkenly "Bush-whacking" the last incumbent in the White House, you might expect to find yourself in a pretty nasty confrontation in no time.