Well...Romney didn't make it.

[rwetmore]

It looks like the polls were accurate.

[rwetmore]

It also looks like Romney will win the popular vote by a small margin.

[John F]

I suppose Republican supporters will seek consolation wherever they can find it, but really, the popular vote is so close and the uncounted votes are projected to be so nearly equal that it's rash to guess what the final totals will be.

[rwetmore]

I suppose Republican supporters will seek consolation wherever they can find it, but really, the popular vote is so close and the uncounted votes are projected to be so nearly equal that it's rash to guess what the final totals will be.

True.

[Tarantella]

Congratulations to all those Democratic supporters who have seen Obama returned. This was a predictable result. Now we interested observers all look to him to tell Americans that the next 4 years are going to be extremely tough - higher taxes and reduced services - in order to bring devastating debt under control. There can, after all, be no alternative.

[RebLem]

Obama has won the popular vote by a narrow margin, and he is above 50%--only about 2% voted for any of the alternatives to the DEMS and GOPers. Romney is at about 48%. Obama has 303 electoral votes NOW, and if Florida is declared for him, as it looks like it probably will be despite the fact that Florida became, in the end, one giant conga line, he will have 332 electoral votes, more than even his most optimistic advocates predicted just a few days ago.

[lennygoran]

It looks like the polls were accurate.

Obama did better than the polls and so did the Dems in the Senate! Regards, Len

[lennygoran]

It also looks like Romney will win the popular vote by a small margin.

I don't think you have that right. Regards, Len

[lennygoran]

Congratulations to all those Democratic supporters who have seen Obama returned. This was a predictable result.

Sue predictable--I was with the results all night and what happened was far from predictable imo. Regards, Len

[Bro]

The reason Mitt lost was the same reason John Kerry lost, or Adlai Stevenson lost :he has too much lace on his britches.

I do not hold out hope Obama will appoint a decent Supreme Court Justice. It is possible, if not probable that he will return to his natural habitat, the Republican party. Remember, Reagan, a hard line Conservative appointed a moderate judge. George Bush 1, a moderate, appointed an intractably Conservative Supreme Court justice. Be careful what you wish for.


Bro

[Steinway]

"I do not hold out hope Obama will appoint a decent Supreme Court Justice. It is possible, if not probable that he will return to his natural habitat, the Republican party."

What in God's name to you mean by that off-the-wall statement?

[lennygoran]

The reason Mitt lost was the same reason John Kerry lost, or Adlai Stevenson lost :he has too much lace on his britches... It is possible, if not probable that he will return to his natural habitat, the Republican party. Remember, Reagan, a hard line Conservative appointed a moderate judge. George Bush 1, a moderate, appointed an intractably Conservative Supreme Court justice.


Bro

I think you're wrong on both counts--Stevenson was an honest intellectual man--not a flip flopper. And if Obama appointed 2 liberal leaning justices so far why would he turn to the Republicans for a pick now? We gotta get rid of that darn Citizens United decision! Regards, Len

[jbuck919]

"I do not hold out hope Obama will appoint a decent Supreme Court Justice. It is possible, if not probable that he will return to his natural habitat, the Republican party."

What in God's name to you mean by that off-the-wall statement?

I don't understand the first part of his post either. ("The reason Mitt lost was the same reason John Kerry lost, or Adlai Stevenson lost: he has too much lace on his britches.")

It is very possible that Obama will not get to make another Supreme Court appointment at all. If any justice is forced to retire in the next four years, it might very well be Ginsburg, who is 79 and already a cancer survivor, rather than one of the Republican-appointed justices, and although there would be a huge fight, there is no way Obama is going to nominate a conservative or someone from the Right.

[John F]

It is possible, if not probable that he will return to his natural habitat, the Republican party.

The Republican Party, the "natural habitat" of Barack Obama? Since when?

Republican Presidents have sometimes appointed Supreme Court justices whose decisions and opinions weren't what they expected. President Eisenhower appointed Earl Warren as chief justice, and later said it was "the biggest fool mistake I ever made." However, Democratic Presidents rarely make that kind of "mistake." Bill Clinton and Barack Obama certainly haven't! Their four appointees are the liberal wing of the present court.

[Bro]

Stevenson was an honest intellectual man--not a flip flopper.

No doubt he was an honest intellectual man and so was John Kerry but people did not identify them as "one of us".

Barack Obama was quite touching in his final days of the campaign, he went to Jersey, he hugged crying mothers, he kissed babies, he hugged Republicans,.. but more to the point, he acted like he wanted the job. Pleading, cajoling, a hint of strain and desperation in his voice he worked and sweated. That was the difference, he sweated as we sweat, and are often times desperate in our stressed filled lives. He was finally one of us, we could identify with that. So could the housewife in Acron, with curlers in her hair, who watches The Game Show Network on TV. Common people see this and are not fooled..

Romney, by contrast, just stood there bolt erect, like a statue, like he was being propped up by a stiff board, spouting on about the economy,...he didn't talk about people. He talked of jobs and small businesses and Europe and deficits,.. but he left out one main ingredient: US.

As far as Supreme Court appointments are concerned - I did say it was "possible", not "probable". He is more a figure of the center so I believe anything is possible with this man.


Bro

[Tarantella]

Congratulations to all those Democratic supporters who have seen Obama returned. This was a predictable result.

Sue predictable--I was with the results all night and what happened was far from predictable imo. Regards, Len

Let me be clear: I predicted it. (See earlier post on this)

[lennygoran]

No doubt he was an honest intellectual man and so was John Kerry but people did not identify them as "one of us".

But you have to admit Obama is more of us than Romney, right? Regards, Len

[lennygoran]

Let me be clear: I predicted it. (See earlier post on this)

Sue if you predicted it my hat's off to you--could you find the prediction--there's so much material
in so may different threads. Regards, Len

[RebLem]

Obama has won the popular vote by a narrow margin, and he is above 50%--only about 2% voted for any of the alternatives to the DEMS and GOPers. Romney is at about 48%. Obama has 303 electoral votes NOW, and if Florida is declared for him, as it looks like it probably will be despite the fact that Florida became, in the end, one giant conga line, he will have 332 electoral votes, more than even his most optimistic advocates predicted just a few days ago.

As a matter of fact, Florida has just certified Obama as the winner in its state, and the Senate races in Montana and North Dakota have been called in favor of the Democrats there, so they will have 53 votes plus Bernie Sanders, and Independent, and, probably, Angus King of Maine, an Independent, for a total of 55 seats!

[Tarantella]

Let me be clear: I predicted it. (See earlier post on this)

Sue if you predicted it my hat's off to you--could you find the prediction--there's so much material
in so may different threads. Regards, Len

Well thanks! Just click on my name and you'll see everything I've written on this messageboard.

[lennygoran]

Just click on my name and you'll see everything I've written on this messageboard.

Tried clicking but nothing happens? Regards, Len

[Bro]

But you have to admit Obama is more of us than Romney, right? Regards, Len

Lenny,....I am saddened. You seemed like such a nice guy before that generator went to your head.

[lennygoran]

But you have to admit Obama is more of us than Romney, right? Regards, Len

Lenny,....I am saddened. You seemed like such a nice guy before that generator went to your head.

I gotta admit that last Oct 28 with 8 days without power compared with this years storm and having the power on has definitely gone to my head! Regards, Len

[Auntie Lynn]

Seems to me the left wingnuts overlook the fact that half the country wants that idiot Obama gone - to say nothing of the 12,000,000 disaffected who didn't vote...

Oh, that's probably Bush's fault, right...??

Makes you wonder how much this a guy has to screw up before some adult in the room goes after him...

[lennygoran]

that idiot Obama gone - to say nothing of the 12,000,000 disaffected who didn't vote...

What an ugly message you have sent--also what about the 47% that Romney said he would disregard. Regards, Len

[John F]

Seems to me the left wingnuts overlook the fact that half the country wants that idiot Obama gone - to say nothing of the 12,000,000 disaffected who didn't vote...

So what? In 2000, more voters wanted Al Gore to be President than George W. Bush, whom I will refrain from calling an idiot. And by the way, 10 million more Americans voted for Barack Obama this year than for either Gore or Bush. Neither my numbers nor yours mean a thing; winning is all that counts. The people have spoken, their word is final, and if you don't like it, too bad for you.

[jbuck919]

Seems to me the left wingnuts overlook the fact that half the country wants that idiot Obama gone - to say nothing of the 12,000,000 disaffected who didn't vote...

It is always tempting to find a reason why the loser really won. You are assuming that those who did not vote were (a) disaffected and (b) would in large part have voted for Romney. Frankly, without evidence, that is an absurd and outrageous assumption. If Obama had won the electoral race but lost the popular vote, people would be saying, and they might or might not have reasons to back them up, that the Democratic vote was more depressed in the blue states than the Republican vote was in the red states. That notion would also have to be backed up by research.

More to the point is that we never have anything but close presidential elections anymore, nor are we likely to in the foreseeable future. I won't attempt to analyze the reasons for this, but I doubt very much if they are coincidental rather than inevitable from the inputs into the process. There have been 17 presidential elections since WW II and only three have been considered landslides (the last was Reagan vs. Mondale in 1984). Any candidate who gets at least 45% of the vote basically has half the country behind him. Therefore, something like half the country have usually been and are likely to continue to be unhappy with the outcome.

[John F]

As a matter of fact, Florida has just certified Obama as the winner in its state

Not yet. The Democrats have declared victory in Florida, but as of the time you posted, votes were still being counted in Duval and Palm Beach counties, and there were still issues involving provisional ballots and questionable absentee votes.

The counties must report unofficial results to the state by noon Saturday. The state canvassing commission will then certify the results Nov. 20.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/pol ... 2125.story

The margin is now ca. 58,000 votes in favor of President Obama, so it's likely that he will be certified the winner. But apparently that's nearly 2 weeks away.

[Bro]

According to CNN, the Presidents lead in the popular vote is 3 million. If memory serves, this was GWB's margin of victory in 2004 - The election Bush called a "mandate".



Bro

[John F]

I've posted some more numbers in the thread Election 2012: The Vote. The total popular vote so far for President Obama is over 61 million, the third highest in history, after Obama himself in 2008 and Bush in 2004. Of course population growth has something to do with it.