Wednesday 7 November 2012

Congratulations to President Obama!

Great win for the President. Sat here at 5am watching him win much better than expected - with wins in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and easily in Iowa. Will be on the BBC News 24 at 9.45am for interview on  consequences of election win for the UK. But a few thoughts to throw into the melting pot are:
- Romney failed to project a message that he was the choice for middle America. In doing so he lost a n election he clearly could have won.
- A big turnout, with many making the case that Hispanic, and female voters in particular determined the win.
- Ohio was won by Obama - proving once again it is the bellwether key swing state. Obama's democrats have a strong control on the mid west. Quite clear that Republicans will never win the US election unless they can make real inroads in the mid west, because their strength in the south is not enough.
- Huge issues remain in respect of how Obama will address the American debts, which are huge. Their big task in the next four years will be the fiscal deficit and the debt ceiling. Resolution needed to address the fact that America state spending is too high and their debts mounting.
- Romney did not win his home state of Massachusetts and Paul Ryan, Romney's vice presidential choice, failed to win Wisconsin. Two big losses.
- The Supreme Court of the USA will change a lot under a second Obama term - key issues in America are abortion law, and the Tea Party / Romney campaign to overturn Roe v Wade and address issues like contraception law were apparently rejected by female voters.
- Key final message is that elections are won from the middle ground, where the majority of voters live. Tea Party has taken Republicans way too far to the right.
The BBC Report of the result is here, including my live quote: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20234767