The best is yet to come, U.S. President tells nation; Romney says will pray for Barack’s success
Amidst high drama over five tense hours of vote-counting on election night, U.S. President Barack Obama won himself four more years to consolidate his legacy as the man who steered America through the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression of the 1930s.
In securing his place in history, however, he will have to continue to face the challenges of a divided nation and Congress, as the popular vote in the highly divisive election was split evenly between him and his Republican rival, Mitt Romney, at 49 per cent.
After his victory was confirmed, Mr. Obama received a rousing welcome from a packed stadium of supporters in the heart of downtown Chicago. Jubilant but tired after a gritty campaign, the President pledged to build an inclusive, economically secure America for the middle class.
‘It doesn’t matter who you are’
“I believe we can keep the promise of our founding, the idea that if you’re willing to work hard, it doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from or what you look like or where you love,” he said, adding “It doesn’t matter whether you’re black or white or Hispanic or Asian or Native American or young or old or rich or poor, abled, disabled, gay or straight. You can make it here in America if you’re willing to try.”
Preliminary indications suggested that voter turnout was lower this year than the breathtaking levels that it soared to in 2008. Although it peaked at close to 70 per cent in some States such as Wisconsin, it also dropped heavily in others, by around 11 per cent in Texas.
The biggest plunge by far, according to media reports quoting a study by American University, was in Eastern Seaboard States that were still recovering from the devastation in the wake of Superstorm Sandy, which caused major property damage and knocked out power for millions, thus disrupting standard voting practices.
Voting proceeded smoothly across most parts of the nation, although in Florida, where the votes are still being counted and Mr. Obama is said to have a lead, complaints of long lines and slow voting were frequent and frustrations mounted. Although no major incidents of voter intimidation were reported, at a Chicago polling booth this correspondent was threatened with eviction and told the police would be called if he didn’t leave, despite his complying with all media regulations for monitoring voting.
Solid ‘ground-game’
Ultimately Mr. Obama’s victory came down to a solid “ground-game” lead over Mr. Romney in battleground States, which Team Obama likely consolidated over the summer by focusing on voter mobilisation efforts in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida, Colorado, Virginia, New Hampshire and Iowa.
The President also scored strongly with his support base comprising women, youth and non-white voters, reports indicated. He defied historical precedent to be re-elected with the highest unemployment rate, 7.9 per cent, “of any President returned to office since Franklin Roosevelt in 1936, and became only the second Democrat since Roosevelt to win another term,” it was noted.
However, voters chose to balance out their decisive White House mandate for Mr. Obama with strong support for Republicans in the House of Representatives. In the House, Republicans maintain overall control after scoring 232 seats and leaving Democrats with 191. They fared less well in the Senate, where Democrats clung on to a slim majority of 51 seats, while Republicans held 45.
Counting in some States such as Florida proceeded long after Mr. Obama reached the all-important 270 mark in the electoral college, the body that ultimately decides the winner in the race. Overall, the President secured 303 votes, while Mr. Romney won 206.
In his victory speech at campaign headquarters here, the President wasted little time acknowledging that he needed to build bridges to bipartisan consensus, if he had any hope of pressing on with reforms, including in contested areas such as comprehensive immigration reform and stimulus-type policies for economic growth and job creation.
While Mr. Obama’s dramatic win will stall any further efforts to repeal his landmark healthcare reform package at the national level, he may well need to quickly reach out to House Speaker John Boehner and his colleagues to urgently find a solution to the fiscal cliff that the U.S. economy is set to go over if deficit-reduction measures are not put in place in good time.
Long to-do list
With a long list of heavy-lift, to-do items on the medium-term agenda for the 45th President of the U.S., Mr. Obama is, however, likely to take a few moments to savour his victory and deliberate on the highly divided state of the union before the new year begins.
Click here for an interactive graphic that shows Electoral College votes by State and total
Keywords: 2012 U.S. Presidential Election, Mitt Romney, Republicans, GOP, Barack Obama, Democrats
Hope Obama finishes what he promised to do, instead of playing around
like Indian politicians who claim they "inherited" the mess. IF he
messes up again for 4 years, nothing other than his oratorial skills
will be praised over and over again by the media.
Dear Murali,
You can verify my figures.Regarding Mitt Romney's income,the IRS will be knocking at his door if he was not paying his tax.Mitt Romney paid an effective tax rate of 14.1 percent for his investments.This he said was due to the fact that the capital of his investments were taxed as high as 35 percent.
Back to Obama.He did not fight any wars in his tenure. The economy was in a mess when he inherited from Bush Jr and its still there.The Employment figure has never improved.He poured money mostly in wrong places and it it showed.
Obama is treading against the founding principles of the founding fathers of the US.please refer to the comment vyjayanthi has posted.
Therefore,I stand by what i have said earlier.If Obama run the course of his tenure as he has done in his first term,The nation will be heading towards where Spain is now.Therefore,my initial comment remains as such. I do not have any grudge against you. But I do know what i write.I have done my homework.
Dear Murali,
Hope you saw my previous input.I do not discount, in any manner the debt contribution from George Bush Jr. Under Bush the debt ceiling increased:
•by $450 billion to $6.4 trillion in June 2002;
•by $984 billion to $7.384 trillion 11 months later, in May 2003;
•by $800 billion to $8.184 trillion 18 months later, in November 2004;
•by $781 billion to $8.965 trillion 16 months later, in March 2006;
•by $850 billion to $9.815 trillion 18 months later, in September 2007;
•by $800 billion to $10.615 trillion 10 months later, in July 2008;
•and by $700 billion to $11.315 trillion three months later, in October 2008.
The two wars against terror and the financial bailout of 700 billion in October 2008.
Under Obama, its heading towards 16 trillion ballpark.There is a deficit of $600 billion which is required to balance the 2012-2013 budget,so it will exceed 16 trillion by Jan 2013.Obama managed to accumlate similar debt in one term which bush has done in two terms.
Dear Murali, Under Clinton the debt ceiling increased: •by $225 billion to $4.37 trillion in April 1993; •by $530 billion to $4.9 trillion four months later, in August 1993; •by $600 billion to $5.5 trillion two years and seven months later, in March 1996; •and by $450 billion to $5.95 trillion 17 months later, in August 1997.
Clinton did declare a surplus of 230 bn in 2000. but clinton borrowed $152.3B from Social Security, $30.9B from Civil Service Retirement Fund
$18.5B from Federal Supplementary Medical insurance Trust Fund
$15.0B from Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund
$9.0B from the Federal Unemployment Trust Fund
$8.2B from Military Retirement Fund
$3.8B from Transportation Trust Funds
$1.8B from Employee Life Insurance & Retirement fund
$7.0B from others
Total borrowed from off budget funds $246.5B, meaning that his $230B surplus is actually a $16.5B deficit.
($246.5B borrowed - $230B claimed surplus = $16.5B actual deficit).
Catchy title it is, but that's it and a mere summary of several press reports which have been pouring since the election. Having experienced for the past four years the intransigent attitude of the GOP who have stubbornly opposed any reasonable dialogue, Mr. President, we hope, will not only work diligently as he has done in the past but find new ways to foster and nurture a healthy relationship with the congress. Certainly, the onus to work closely with Mr. Obama is more on Mr. Boehner and fellow Republicans and to do what it takes to lift the economic gloom engulfing the country. GOP should take a cue from the NJ governor Mr. Christie who set aside all political feud and applauded the President's handling of the situation in the tragic aftermath of Sandy. Finally, those bashing Mr. Obama may be memory challenged; the economy, when he took office was already going South with a huge surplus blown to deficit. It takes time to clean the mess left behind and rebuild let alone progress.
The author has made several errors in this report. The Democrats have seized two seats in the US Senate from the Republicans and their strength has increased to 53, not 51 as stated. Obama got 50 percent of the popular vote and won by a significant margin of around 3 million votes overall. The Republicans managed to cling to their majority in the House but the electorate clearly voted against that party which had nothing to show for the past four years except for obstructing Obama at every step without any reason.
Now that the election is over – there is much soul searching among those who feel they lost, and about what happened and why. To those who feel this way my advice to you is elections are about the pulse of the country. On this occasion the country stood with the philosophy of the President that is the need to find a path forward. It is time for those who feel they lost to re-examine their position – this is necessary because the country rejected their views. It is time for all of us wherever we are to join in the discussion and debate on the future. I feel compelled to point to some of the issues which was placed front and center in the elections. These issues drove the vote and the passion with which people endured long lines to protect their right to prosecute these issues through the vote. Those who supported Obama, did so to expand the civil rights issues of our time. The main being what to do with growing inequality in the US and the world.
Well deserved win. Your headline "divided nation..." is far from true. All nations are divided at the time of election. U.S manages it well - much better than our divided, sub-divided and divisive elections. Further their Presidential form gives a direct ruler. Far better a system than ours - people may vote for a good candidate but the ruler can be not-so-good in our system. Or vice-versa.
Wrong Suban Jacob! It's Mitt Romney who paid less than 15% taxes. And he's a wealthy guy with millions of dollars in his coffer and did not want to pay. Ordinary folks in the US paid at least about 20 ~ 25% taxes!
When President Clinton completed his eight year term in the office, he left a hefty surplus dollars. In the next eight years, during the Republican rule, all of the money was squandered away. So, figure it out for yourself if you will, on who was the root cause for the downfall of the American economy!
Please do your home work throughly before you pen.
President Obama is only the 44th President and not 45th as reported in
the last para.
The hatred rift between the Republicans and the Democrats is so deep
that the conservative Republicans would hate to walk the very path a
Democrat treads. The Republican Senate Minority Leader said three
years ago that their only agenda was to evict Obama from the White
House in 2012 elections. With that end in view, the Republican
controlled House of Representatives in the Congress refused to pass
any of the Bills sent by Obama or returned to him with their counter
proposals because he should fail as President and that should serve
them as a weapon to drive him out of the White House in the elections.
The present Congress earned the brick bat of 'Do-Nothing-Congress'
from the people. But to their bitter disappointment, people have voted
Obama for a second term. Now they are showing the Olive branch to him
to show their readiness to cooperate with him, aware of their fate
otherwise in 2014 polls.
The rise & rise of Obama proves, citzens will support honourable & ethical leaders in tdays world, no matter what bakground he is from!
Can INDIA also find a leader who will say:"if you’re willing to work hard,it doesn’t matter who u r or where come frm or what you look like?
Obama's policies are tantamount to "Ask and Ye shall receive". That's
not the way to put an economy back on its track of unbridled growth.
If I'm not very wrong, that is similar to trying to outrun the problem
instead of confronting it. At one point you will be outrun and
overwhelmed.
Romney wrote articles like "Let Detroit (auto industry) go bankrupt"
(which were a major reason I believe for Obama's resounding victory in
some battleground states) pursuant to his policy that those who can't
pick up after themselves do not deserve govt assistance, which is
justified. Writing check after check cannot solve every problem; the
aggrieved entity must have the discipline and the ability to take
definite steps to correct his ailment.
Even Mrtin Luther King was dsimissive about govt aid programs like
Food Stamps. He wanted independence and self-reliance, the opposite of
Obama's policies.
President Obama makes a comeback and his second term, without the
pressure of having to seek re-election, may be his opportunity to prove
that the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to him for a reason. President
Obama needs a lot of courage and good fortune to confront all the
lobby, corporate and special interest groups in order to bring about
real and meaningful change in America's slanted foreign policy.
"I place economy among the first and most important virtues, and public debt as the greatest of dangers to be feared. To preserve our independence, we must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt. If we run into such debts, we must be taxed in our meat and drink, in our necessities and in our comforts, in our labor and in our amusements. If we can prevent the government from wasting the labor of the people, under the pretense of caring for them, they will be happy." - Thomas Jefferson.
"A general dissolution of principles and manners will more surely overthrow the liberties of America than the whole force of the common enemy. While the people are virtuous they cannot be subdued; but when once they lose their virtue then will be ready to surrender their liberties to the first external or internal invader." - Samuel Adams.
Hope President Obama's governance will be guided by the ideals of the founding fathers of his country.
Obama deserves the victory. Guess he's the better athlete - watch him
play basket ball if you aren't convinced - and hence qualifies for the
supreme prize. In today's fast paced life, the person who is more
physically and mentally active, man or woman, is the winner. All the
best to you Mr.President!
Economy to win second term? Seriously? tell me, what exactly did Obama did to reform US Economics? or anything that is worth deserving a second chance at the White House ? Anyone who is familiar with US economy will disagree with you. From the way things are at present, It just matter of years that US will tread the path of Spain.He's employing the very same governance which led Spain,Italy,Greece,Ireland to financial mess. Interestingly, you did not mentioned anything that will stimulate the economy due to Obama's second term. He said that his job is unfinished. yeah unfinished from making it far from recovery.
Its not just economic decay, it will be moral,social and political decay. Well, celebrities will adore him. People who do not want to pay federal taxes, people who like to live on food stamps,who feel that the Government is obliged to take care of them, People who think killing Innocent Life matters more to get rid of their "so called inconvenience" will support him.
Obama again president proves the 21st century for all. Be white or
black, be rich or poor, anyone from such made racial cluster can be
super if he has the talent (yes we can). For such magic India is also
waiting. Made racial and social cluster peeps in politics to be super.
I had a gut feeling that Mr. Romney is going to make it. But, am proved wrong. However, full points to President Obama, for sticking to his core message of welfare. Mr. Romney would have been more pro-business, going by track record of republicans. But we have to remember good economic performance under President Clinton. I do hope that President Obama continues with his good policies and not target Indians for outsourcing. Its about working together and not working against each other.
Great news.Hope he will continue to support India
Hearty congratulations to Barack Obama on his reelection as the
President of US.May the Almighty bless the President elect and his
countrymen with peace and prosperity.The lessons of four years in office
should enable Obama to focus more on faster recovery of the US economy,
lesser bullying of States not towing the US line and all out efforts in
promoting world peace for universal brotherhood and harmony.
In spite of nature catostrophy, Obama won a second term as US President,which will be beneficial not only to Us but also to the world over for world peace.It is to be seen how he is going to handle the deficit situation and to rebuild the nation now unless, he is forced to tax the people and also the rich corporates for their major slice in Nation building.It is a great challenge for Obama and his men. Mr.clinton was with him shoulder to shoulder during the election. Let us hope that everything goes fine.
Its a very happy moment for every one who loves Obama. Congratulations and hope he will fulfill his promises he made. All the very best for his second term.
President Obama wins another term... Congrats!
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