The 2012 US general elections, a historic view

This marked the 57th quadrennial presidential election for the United States
Doug Mills/The New York Times

Yesterday, November 6^th, 2012 Barack Obama became the 15^th US President to be reelected for two consecutive presidential terms. Only Franklin Delano Roosevelt has had more than two terms (1932-1945). 

CNN’s preliminary data shows a turnout of approximately 56% of the voting-age population. Although, this reflects a decrease in relation to the 2008 general elections, the overall trend showing a steady increase prevailed. Two demographic groups that seem to have played an important role in Obama’s favor are young voters and Hispanics. According to the most recent information available, young voters (ages 18-29) and Hispanics increased their participation in 1% as compared to 2008. Obama managed to capture 60% of young voters and 71% of Hispanics this time around. 

Joe Biden was again Obama’s Vice President candidate. From all Presidents US has had since George Washington’s first presidency from 1789 to 1797, 37 were chosen in elections. John Tyler, Millard Fillmore, Chester A. Arthur, Andrew Johnson, Calvin Coolidge, Teddy Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Lyndon B. Johnson and Gerald R. Ford, succeeded incumbent Presidents following their abandonment of office due to illness, death, or in the unique case of Ford, Richard Nixon’s Watergate scandal.

According to USA Today, President Obama won by a margin of 97 electoral votes (303 to 206). In 1936, Franklin Roosevelt defeated Alf Landon by the biggest difference ever recorded in a US election, 515 electoral votes. The smallest difference in electoral votes occurred during the 1824 presidential elections in which Andrew Jackson had only 15 electoral votes over his closest contender. The decision was taken into the House of Representatives which decided to appoint John Quincy Adams as President.

In terms of popular votes, President Obama obtained an approximate 2% margin over Mitt Romney. Only 5 presidents have received a greater number of popular votes but lost in electoral colleges. The last one being Al Gore during the 2000 elections. In 1876, Rutherford Hayes defeated Samuel Tilden with a difference in popular vote of 1 vote.

Obama is the 21st Democrat President. Republicans have managed to win the presidency with 22 candidates. Only 4 presidents in the history of the US have lead this nation coming from parties other than the Democratic or Republican parties. It is important to mention that two independent candidates, Angus King and Bernie Sanders, managed to obtain seats in the Senate.

In spite the difficulties presented by Hurricane Sandy in the Northeast Cost, the US managed to pull out another successful election. Mitt Romney, the losing candidate from the Republican Party conceded defeat around 1:30 am on November 7, 2012.

US Election 2012: What’s at stake

The Capitol. Source: FreeDigitalPhotos

The choice of a new president for the US is not just one between two candidates, but one between two different visions of the country. Two visions that point at a bleak outlook. The problems—an almost stagnant economy, high unemployment rates, the deplorable state of the education system, troops still in Afghanistan—are obvious and unavoidable. America is in desperate need for real solutions, and

hopefully whoever gets chosen between Mitt Romney and Barack Obama will provide some, if not all of them. Let’s take a look at the current panorama.

Economy and Unemployment

Americans consider this the main trouble burdening the country. The recession ended in 2009, but the economy does not seem to grow yet, three years later. Total national debt is larger than it has ever been since WWII. Unemployment rates, which are already high, are on the verge of rising even more. Obama intends to keep taxes low for everybody except the wealthiest, give tax breaks to businesses, and spend on public works and clean energy. Romney, on the other side, proposes cuts in tax rates for all income levels and cuts in corporate rates, as well as encouraging oil production.

Education

The U.S. education system is in dire need of a transformation. The quality of primary schooling is not quite up to global standards, with less teachers and larger class sizes. On the other hand, higher education costs are leaving students buried deep in debt, that is, if they are able to afford college at all. State budget cuts have affected the quantity (and quality) of teachers, and are ultimately affecting students. The candidates are using this sensitive issue as a means to set philosophical distance from each other. Obama, for example, mentioned on a speech that he and his wife had only been able to pay off their student loans eight years ago, whereas Romney had advised a high school student in Ohio to borrow money from her parents, ignoring the fact that not all parents actually have that money to lend. It’s up to the government to step up and really help the American youth on their path to a professional career.

War

The increasingly unpopular war in Afghanistan has gone on and on for years, and trillions of dollars have been spent to that end. Now, the deployment of American forces in the Asian country has entered a transition phase where power is being handed over to the Afghans, but this transition seems slow. Nevertheless, if everything goes according to plan, the troops should be going home by the end of 2014. Both candidates agree on the timeline proposed for troop withdrawal, although the question about possible future Al-Qaeda attacks still lingers in the air.

With these important points on the table, it is crucial that people register to vote and do so consciously. The winner of this election, no matter if it is Obama or Romney, must earn his post in a fair electoral process. Voting, as the cornerstone of democracy, is the first step towards a brighter future for a country in crisis. It must not be taken lightly.