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| Mitt Romney and Barack Obama (Image: CBS News) |
Barack Obama got what he wanted - a second term as President of the United States, a second chance to tell his citizens that they can, and will live in a country which leads, inspires and prosper the world which at present, offers uncertainty and divide. The Presidential race prior to November 6th was hyped by the media as tight. The media gave Republican candidate Mitt Romney and his Party false hope that he even had a chance to take over the country. The Massachusetts governor lost comprehensively to Obama and having heard CNN's reports that Florida State was won by the Democrats, the victory for the current President was comfortable.
Where did it all go wrong for Romney? He had a strong fan base, won over some doubters who didn't like his Mormon ways of living and he spent a huge amount of dollar to convince the US public he should be the next President. His campaign started off shaky after he was confirmed the Republican candidacy during the summer. Democrats took advantage of Romney's tax avoidances and also capitalised on the Republican's misjudgements with regards to public speaking. He said, days before London 2012 that the Olympic and Paralympic Games were not going to be a success, something which was strongly condemned by British politicians. Romney spoke of other gaffes such as calling a Sikh's place of faith a "Sheikh Temple", and introduced his number two, Paul Ryan once as "the next President of the United States of America". Saying things like that were not going to encourage either the American public, nor positive relations with crucial international countries which rely on billions of dollars worth of trading and financial negotiation.
Despite this, international relations and foreign policy statistically didn't affect the American vote. The voters' key issues were the economy, employment and the health care system. Obama's first term gave the public more questions that needed answering. Yes, unemployment rate decreased but not at a figure Obama aimed for. The economy has improved, but ever so slightly and the ObamaCare initiative proved controversial for many American people.
However, Mitt Romney didn't highlight Obama's lack of progress enough. He just promised for more jobs and to abolish ObamaCare, but how? At least Obama showed clear evidence of some progress and emphasised he has unfinished business. His spark of 2008 may have been lost but his 2012 spark has still gotten him a victory. Romney presented himself well in the three television debates which got prediction polls to his favour and made the public more passionate to vote in this election. Even in New York, which was recently victim to Super Storm Sandy, people were still willing to have their say. Some argue it was Sandy which gifted Obama the victory because he spoke and visited the areas affected by the storm. It became apparent of Romney's silence and instead, he concentrated too much on visiting swing states such as Virginia and Ohio - both states which the Republicans lost anyway. Overall, I felt Obama connected with the public better. Even if he didn't deliver a perfect campaign, winning ugly is still winning.
The Republicans however, have some reasons to celebrate. Despite Obama's victory, the right-wing party gained enough votes to lead a majority to take over the United States Congress of Representatives. What this potentially means for Obama is that, although he will reside at the White House, his power and influence could be heavily limited. What he needs to do is maintain, or up this level of power and persuasion in order to convince Republicans that his way will benefit the public.
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| David Cameron and Angela Merkel (Image: The Sun) |
The Republican Party has been warned of its future. Demographically, the middle-aged white male mainly voted for Mitt Romney while the rising population of Latino and Hispanics, along with women and LGBT opted for Obama. On the BBC, one Republican strategist, during the election result show feared that in 18 years time, when current newborn Latino, Hispanics and so on are eligible to vote in the US, Democrats will only thrive for a very long time. The last two Presidential election defeats has shown massive warning signs for the Republican Party and it's up to them by 2016 whether to get out of their comfort zone and open up a diverse range of people regardless of their race, age, gender and sexual orientation. We are no longer living in the Reagan era and younger people of the 21st Century are getting more politically involved and opening their eyes to the rise in free speech and this could only be down to the rise in the support of left-wing ideologies.
This problem for right-wing parties hasn't just occurred in the United States - it is becoming a global trend. The Middle East has seen change over the last two years and the radical right-wing ways of thinking is rapidly vanishing and in comes the gradual wave of left-wing politics entering places like Egypt and Libya. In Europe, despite the UK, Greece and Germany having centre-right wing government, they start disagreeing with one another over the economy. France realised the bickering which didn't show action in Europe and the controversial austerity measures in the country changed people's attitude over Nicolas Sarkozy and earlier this year picked Socialist Francois Hollande. People in the UK are looking to see if Labour are worthy of another shot in Downing Street, as polls suggest while people in Germany are getting a little more frustrated with Angela Merkel. In Greece, further cuts and bailouts has only angered the public and provoked riots in Athens. Right-wing politics is in a crisis and it's only a matter of time when left-wing parties dominate global politics.
The solution for right-wing politics is for one influential person in that side of the political spectrum to inspire people to vote for them. Perhaps another actor but on a serious note, it's a tough ask but as Mitt Romney experienced, a little more hype and hope can get Republican Party on the up.
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