7/31/2019 Election page 2012

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Simon KentQMI Agency

TORONTO Barack HusseinObama has been re-elected presi-dent of the United States.

After months of brutal cam-paigns that crisscrossed America,

voters have decided to stay withthe devil they know.

They have rejected Republicanchallenger Mitt Romney andchosen four more years of rule byDemocrat Barack Obama.

It is never a simple exercise todecide just what moves voters to

make one choice over anotherwhe n it co mes to nat ion alleadership.

Put simply, U.S. presidentialelections are referenda on theperformance of the party with thekeys to the White House. And in2012, voters liked what they saw,but with the caveat: could dobetter.

There are a few outstand-ing individual points, however,that indicate just why PresidentObama has returned.

He knew his core constituencyand ensured it was looked after.

Socialist-style universal health-care system has been promised to

America, a country fiercely com-mitted to the self-help ethic ofcapitalism.

Obama was able to convince

those outside the system that aslong as he was in the White House,their interests would be lookedafter.

The massive financial bailout ofthe motor industry using taxpayerfunds also looked after anothercore constituency of highly union-ized, blue-collar workers.

Finally there is the matter ofLatinos. Obama reached out to

their communities and opposeda hardline on illegal immigra-tion that typified Republicanapproaches.

Polls leading up to the presi-dential election consistentlyshowed upwards of 70% supportamongst Latino communities forthe president.

Then there is the matter of hope a word that Obama claimed ashis own in two presidential elec-tion campaigns.

While unemployment remainsstubbornly high at 7.9% there areseeds of growth sprouting thathave convinced American votersthat hope for good times aheadmay not be misplaced.

The hope of a job in the landof the free is a powerful tonic andmaybe, just maybe, Obama can

deliver. On the ground, Obamawon because he ran a better, moredisciplined campaign, especiallyafter the scare he received in thefirst presidential debate.

Democrats worked the battle-ground states in a more effec-tive manner and got the vote out

where it counted.Now that Barack Obama is back

he needs to heal the divisions that

characterize U.S. politics and reachthose who didnt vote Democrat.He rules for everyone, after all, not

just those in his own party. On theworld stage he must oversee thewithdrawal from Afghanistan, theclosure of Guantanamo Bay andnegotiate the steady rise of China.

At home there is a looming fiscalcliff that will need addressing.

Those $607 million in spendingcuts and tax breaks take effect inJanuary, and Obama can eitherscale them back or work to dropthem altogether.

Such are the challenges aheadfor the man chosen to lead whatis still the most powerful nationon earth and Canadas nearestneighbour.

simon.kent@sunmedia.ca

Leader: Canadian Prime Minister in India during vote

Harper wakes to congratulate presidentNEW DELHI, India While

America voted, Prime MinisterStephen Harper slept.

But when he awoke here in theIndian capital, polls were justclosing on Americas east coastand, a few hours later, as Harper

was wrapping a speech to a busi-ness crowd here, Republicanchallenger Mitt Romney con-ceded the election to U.S.President Barack Obama.

On behalf of the Governmentof Canada, I would like to con-

gratulate President BarackObama on his victory in tonightselection and on being re-electedby the American people for asecond term, Harper said.

Reuters

CLose ties: U.S. Ambassador hosts political junkies in Ottawa

Americans in Canada keep eager eye on voteOTTAWA Americans and

political junkies gathered inOttawa to anxiously watch elec-tion results unfold south of theborder on Tuesday evening.

It is good to have all thepolitical junkies in Ottawa show

up in one place. And for mostof you, it has got to be prettygood because it is not your elec-tion, U.S. Ambassador DavidJacobson told a crowd gatheredfor an embassy party at the his-toric Fairmont Chateau Laurier

hotel in Ottawa.Jacobson says the relationship

between Canada and the UnitedStates is strong and will remainstrong moving forward.

QMI Agency

U.s. eLeCtion: U.S. sticks with Obama after tight race with Romney

A dee ply div ide d Ame ric areturned President BarackObama to the White House.

Whil e his Repu blic an chal -lenger was ahead in the pop-ular vote, Obama crossed the270 electoral-vote threshold bytaking key swing states.

This happened because ofyou, the preside nt tweete d asit became clear he had wonthe grinding, see-saw battlethat was the U.S. presidentialcampaign.

At press time, Obama had 290electoral votes to Republicancompetitor Mitt Romneys 201.

The Democrats, as expected,retained their majority in theSenate.

In his concession speech, theRepublican candidate called forboth sides to work together.

The nation, as you know, isat a critical point, Romney said.At a time like this, we cant riskpartisan bickering and politicalposturing. Our leaders have toreach across the aisle to do thepeoples work.

Romney, as expected, wonmuch of the American south

while Obama took large parts ofthe north and east coast.

Television stations hesi-tated until after 11 p.m. to call

a winner largely becausethe crucial states of Virginia,Ohio and Florida were suchclose battles with as little as afew hundred votes separatingthe two candidates at timesthroughout the evening anddespite Romneys camp arguingtheir man still had a chance.

The Republicans chanceswere hit by Obama victories inWisconsin and Pennsylvania, aswell as New Hampshire.

Romney last week visitedWisc onsi n, home state of his

vice-presidential runn ing mate,Paul Ryan, and had stopped inPennsylvania earlier on Tuesdayin hopes of pulling off a surprise

win there.In a victory that also lim-

ited Romneys path to a vic-tory, Obama won Michigan,the Republican leaders stateof birth but where he ran afoul

of voters by opposing an autoindustry bailout pushed byObama. Some polls had showna tight race there.

Election day in the U.S. - theconclusion of a seemingly end-less campaign that polls hadpredicted would be a dead heat- was marred by voting hasslesand irregularities, includingrobocalls misdirecting voters insome states and voting machinemalfunctions.

New Jersey extended thedeadline to allow citizens forced

out by hurricane Sandy to voteby e-mail.

But there were no immediateclaims of anything widespreador systematic enough to castdoubt on the credibility of theelection outcome.

At leas t 120 mill ion peopl ehad been expected to render

judg ment on whet her to give

the nations first black presidenta second term or replace himwith Romney, a multimillionaireformer head of a private equityfirm and former governor ofMassachusetts, who would havebeen the first Mormon presi-dent and one of the wealthi-est Americans to assume thenations highest office.

The campaign was foughtin the shadow of a sickly U.S.economy , crippling debt ,chronic domestic troubles andrancorous, divisive debate over

health care, taxation and for-eign policy.

Two starkly different pathsemerged for Americans onspending, taxes, health care andforeign policy challenges, suchas the rise of China and Iransnuclear ambitions.

The 51-year-old Obama laidout an election platform aimedstraight at middle-class voters.

President Obama is fightingto grow the economy from themiddle out, not the top down,his website says. Mitt Romney

wants to go back to the exactsame policies that caused the

recession and hurt the middleclass.

If that pitch wasnt directenough for Americans, Obamacalled his plan jobs and mid-dle-class se curity.

Obama promised hed extendmiddle-class income-tax cuts,increase taxes on millionaires,recruit 100,000 math and sci-

ence teachers and boost domes-tic energy supply.Romneys five-point plan

would bring Ameri ca roari ngback, the candidate vowed,after four years of sluggish eco-nomic performance.

The Republican candidate,65, had promised to reducemarginal income tax ratesacross the board by 20%, cut thecorporate tax rate, lower gov-ernment spending except forthe military, which would seeincreased funds, and gradually

wean rich seni ors from soci alsecurity and medicare benefits.

Romney made it clear his firstact, if elected president, wouldhave been to axe Obamacare a controversial health-careprogram introduced by thepresident.

Many voters interviewed out-side polling booths expressed

concern for the economy, pro-vid ing ins igh t int o why pro-business Romney was leadingin the popular vote well into thenight.

But some exit polls suggestedvot ers wer e jus t as lik ely toblame former president George

W. Bush for the fiscal woes asthey were Obama.

The lengthy campaign wasmarked with gaffes and setbackson both sides.

with files by Reuters

538 total

Electoral college votes

270 required to win

Results as of12:30 a.m.

Leaning

QMI AGENCY

Unocial results

Swing states

Obama

2012 Election results

Romney

MA 11

RI 4CT 7

NJ 14

DE 3MD 10DC 3

NH 4

VT 3

AZ NM

UTCA

OR

WA12

7

55

4

4

4

3

3

3

3

10

10

6

115

38

7

6

9

96

6

16

20

2916

11

1120

8

8

5

ID

MT

WY

ND

SD

NE

KS

OK

TXAK

3

MN

MO

AR

LA

MS

TN

KY

IL

MI

PA

NY

ME

HI

WV5

SC

GAAL

IN

303

206

6IA

WI

CO

NV6

9

10Democrats

Republicans

Visit canoe.ca/uselectionfor full election coverage

18OH

FL

29

15NC

13VA

anaLysis: Americans decided to stick with devil they know

rm u f cmg

America votes against change

repUbLiCan reaCtion: Candidates son speaks

Now the

real workbegins

Bryn WeeSeSenior Washington Correspondent

BOSTON It was a sedatecrowd at Mitt Romneys elec-tion headquarters here Tuesdaynight anxiously awaiting resultsof this historic election evenafter most of the world declareda Barack Obama win. Romneyscamp, frankly, didnt believe theresults.

And where some cons erva -tives had predicted maybe

wishfully that Romney wouldrun away with the race, the elec-tion played out Tuesday night asmost expected it would: close,right to the end.

But one thing is certain,wheth er the Romne y set wasready to accept the declara-tions of an Obama win or not,

America remains deeply dividedover its future.

And with Repub lica ns pre-dicted to keep control of the

House of Representat ives,more government gridlockin Washington remained apossibility.

Make that a certainty oncePresident Barack Obama wasre-elected.

Romney had promised votersto beat back the growing gov-ernment, and its spending, andtouted his experience in theprivate sector and working withDemocrats as the Republicangovernor of this state as bonafides that would help himheal the partisan divide in

Washington, cut the deficit andcreate jobs.

Cheers went up from timeto time inside the BostonConvention Center when safeRepublican states were declaredfor Romney Kentucky ,

Ar ka ns as , Ge or gi a, So ut hCarolina, and others.

But ultimately it was the swingstates that mattered, and enoughof those races went Obamas wayin the end.

And even as same-s ex mar-riage supporters earlier dem-onstrated outside Romneysparty at the Boston ConventionCenter a reminder thatMassachusetts is a solidly liberalstate Republicans remainedupbeat.

Craig Romney, one of fiveof the Republican presidentialcandidates sons, addressed thecrowd of supporters and toldthem it was never a foregoneconclusion that Romney wouldrun in this election anyway,having lost in 2008 to JohnMcCain. The family, he said,encouraged him to run givenhis experience as a Republicangovernor in this Democrat state,turning around the scandal-

plagued Salt Lake City WinterOlympics, and as a successfulbusinessman.

An d it s th at ex pe ri en ceRomney was hoping Americans

were lookin g for in their nextpresident. Expressing confi-dence, Romney told reporterson his plane as he flew back toBoston that he had written onlyone speech for evening, one cel-ebrating his victory.

Im very proud of the cam-paign that Ive run, to tell youthe truth, he said.

Im sure like any campaign,people can talk to mistakes, butthats going to be part of any-thing thats produced by humanbeings.

bryn.weese@sunmedia.ca

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