The largest turnout in recent times drove home the message that Obama was better suited to safeguard the interests of the middle class than the millionaire Romney
Barack Obama’s re-election as US President saw America speak out strongly that a nation built on the blood, sweat, tears and aspirations of millions of immigrants could not entrust its future to an ultra-right conservative with divisive and archaic views out of sync with a young nation.
In the “most-tweeted” event in US political history, Facebook and Twitter saw the young wildly celebrating the President’s triumph. Only a few mourned Republican challenger Mitt Romney defeat. In fact, Mr Obama, who won 60 per cent of the youth vote, becomes one of a handful of US leaders to win both the electoral and popular votes. The largest turnout in recent times successfully drove home the message that Mr Obama was better suited to safeguard the interests of the middle class than the millionaire Romney, the complete antithesis of the pro-interventionist incumbent.
The unprecedented turnout saw blacks coming out to re-elect the first black President in larger numbers than they voted for him in 2008; unwilling to allow Mr Obama to suffer the fate that befell Jimmy Carter and his one-term presidency. It also galvanised 60 per cent Hispanics and Asian-Americans and garnered 39 per cent of the white vote — the so-called Obama coalition — all of whom the President thanked in his acceptance speech. Mr Obama should also perhaps thank the Republican’s appalling views on abortion and women’s role in society for the 55 per cent women’s vote.
Mr Romney’s pitch that as a successful businessman he knew how to fix the economy boomeranged, partly as he was seen to be disconnected from the travails of ordinary Americans. But maybe his biggest flaw was that he wasn’t Republican enough. His Mormon beliefs seemed alien to the conservative core, while his track record as Massachusetts governor was more liberal than many might have liked. And by picking a Catholic running mate, he ensured neither candidate truly fitted the Republican bill. Tellingly, Mr Obama won the home states of both Mr Romney and Paul Ryan — Massachusetts and Wisconsin.
Again, Mr Romney’s confrontational stance on China and Iran in an America deeply weary of war saw the nation hanging on to a President, chary of sending their sons to another foreign field. For New Delhi, already established as a key Asian pivot for Washington, Mr Obama’s re-election will change little, but his ability to secure the peace in Afghanistan and the wider region, as well as the Arab world, will be keenly watched. Now that he is unburdened by electoral expectations, Mr Obama has the opportunity over the next four years to take decisions that might not always be immediately popular in order to secure his country’s long-term interests. The question is: will he take it?
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