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The US Constitution differs from the Westminster system. Both have three distinct branches of Government: the Executive, the Legislative, and the Judicial. But in the US system the Executive (the President) is elected separately from the Legislature (the Congress), whereas under the Westminster system, the Executive (the Government led by the Prime Minister) is elected by a majority of the Legislature (the House of Commons). Thus it is possible in the US to have a President from one party and a Congress dominated by another party. This can produce power struggles between two of the arms of government, with the third, the judicial, being drawn in from time to time. This split does not occur under the Westminster system.
I think the US system developed as it did partly because King George III suffered from porphyria. Combined with natural adolescent emancipatory energies in the American colonies, the mad king and his unwise government (see Barbara Tuchman's book The March of Folly) succeeded in provoking the American colonists to fight for independence and construct a new constitution. In order to avoid the establishment of any such mad ruler under their new regime, they decided that not only should their “king” be elected and not hereditary, but also that a system of checks and balances should be able to control an elected president if he became mad (or bad) too. This led to the separation of the executive (The President) from the legislature (Congress).
It's as if there is a schizoid split at the heart of the American political system, which often works well (in terms of balance of power) but at times produces bizarre effects. The Clinton public humiliation by the Starr machine was one such effect.
I think a suitable metaphor for the US Constitution is the image of Iron John, as described by Robert Bly. Iron John is a wild, hairy, strong man, kept in a cage in the centre of the King's courtyard. The US created a President who is by far the most powerful man (or woman)