President Barack Obama Wins Second Term

BY SABRINA VICTOR

On Tuesday, November 7th President Barack Obama defeated Governor Mitt Romney and won a second term as President of the United States of America. This neck to neck and historically expensive race ended with President Obama winning the votes of almost all of the 12 crucial battle ground states.

At about 11 p.m. NBC called the win for President Obama and CNN followed soon after. Obama earned 332 electoral votes by winning battleground states including Ohio, Wisconsin, Virginia and Pennsylvania. At about 1:30 a.m.  President Obama gave his victory speech and reiterated idea that we aren’t only red or blue states, but the United States of America.

“Tonight, in this election, you, the American people, reminded us that while our road has been hard, while our journey has been long, we have picked ourselves up, we have fought our way back and we know in our hearts that for the United States of America, the best is yet to come,”  Obama said in his speech after his re-election victory.

This presidential campaign was mainly focused on which candidate could better handle helping the country recover from the 2007-08 economic crisis and recession. Obama’s argument was that he took control of the economy when it was in shambles and efforts such as the federal stimulus package, the auto industry bailout, and a steady decline in the unemployment rate have helped to improve the economy.

Obama also focused on many of his achievements including the passage of the Affordable Care Act reforming health care, the end of the war in Iraq, signing the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, the death of Osama bin Laden and repealing the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy which restricted openly gays in the military.

“Our economy is recovering. A decade of war is ending. A long campaign is now over,” Obama said. “And whether I earned your vote or not, I have listened to you, I have learned from you, and you’ve made me a better president. And with your stories and your struggles, I return to the White House more determined and more inspired than ever about the work there is to do and the future that lies ahead.”

On the other hand, Gov. Mitt Romney unsuccessfully tried to claim that Obama had failed as president and that his personal experience in the private sector as head of Bain Capital made him more qualified for the job.

On the last few days of the campaign both candidates visited a handful of swing states, including Obama’s visit at McArthur High School in Hollywood, Fl. In order to try to gain the vote of the undecided, especially in Ohio, Obama brought along celebrities such as Pitbull, Bruce Springsteen, Jay-Z, Stevie Wonder, Katy Perry, Dave Matthews, and John Mellencamp to many of his rallies. Former President Bill Clinton, who left office with a balanced budget, also voiced his support for President Obama.

Meanwhile, Gov. Mitt Romney rallied mainly about the economy and finally stopped discussing the extreme right wing-positions he had taken on abortion, foreign policy, and funding cuts for government agencies. But the public didn’t seem to forget about these positions during early voting and Tuesday. His right-wing approach and his 47% comment seemed to have cost him the election.

This election could’ve been an opportunity for republicans to boot Obama out of the house since various polls showed Americans were unhappy with the economy, unemployment, and the health care reform bill. But Mitt Romney’s hardline positions on immigration restrictions, getting rid of Planned Parenthood and not supporting gay marriage lost him many votes among minorities and women. His too-conservative position and inability to bring down Democratic attacks on his business experience and personal wealth left the middle class unable to relate to him.

In the end President Obama came out on top in an election that cost a whopping $2.6 billion according to Rolling Stone. President Obama’s second term agenda includes battling with a Republican house on partisan negotiations over whether the Bush tax cuts should expire, tax reform and deficit reduction.