Obama fends off Romney, economy to win second term

November 7, 2012

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Washington, November 7: Barack Obama captured a second White House term, blunting a mighty challenge by Republican Mitt Romney as Americans voted for a leader they knew over a wealthy businessman they did not.

Mr. Obama, America's first African-American President, easily captured far more than the 270 electoral votes needed for victory and further cemented his place in American history on Tuesday with a victory, despite having led the country through its most difficult economic times since the Great Depression in the 1930s, a time of stubbornly high unemployment and anxiety about the future.

Mr. Obama told a rally of cheering supporters that the election “reminded us that while our road has been hard, while our journey has been long, we have picked ourselves up, we have fought our way back. For the United States, “the best is yet to come,” he said.

Mr. Romney said he had called Mr. Obama to concede, and in an appearance before supporters in Boston he congratulated the president saying, “I pray that he will be successful in guiding our nation.”

Both Mr. Romney and Mr. Obama spoke of the need for unity and healing the nation's partisan divide. But the election did nothing to end America's divided government. The Democrats retained their narrow majority in the Senate, while the Republicans kept control of the House of Representatives.

That means Mr. Obama's agenda will be largely in the hands of House Speaker John Boehner, the president's partner in unsuccessful deficit talks.

Mr. Obama's narrow lead in the popular vote will make it difficult for him to claim a sweeping mandate. With returns from 79 per cent of the nation's precincts, Mr. Obama had 52.2 million, 49.5 per cent. Mr. Romney had 51.7 million, 49 per cent.

But Mr. Obama did have a sizeable victory where it mattered, in the competition for electoral votes. He had at least 303 votes to Mr. Romney's 206.

The President is chosen in a State-by-State tally of electors, not according to the nationwide popular vote, making such “battleground” states which vote neither Republican nor Democrat on a consistent basis particularly important in such a tight race.

Mr. Obama won Ohio, Wisconsin, Virginia, Iowa, New Hampshire, Colorado and Nevada, seven of the nine battleground states where the rivals and their allies poured nearly $1 billion into dueling television commercials.

Of the nine battleground States, Mr. Romney captured only North Carolina. The final swing State Florida remained too close to call.

The election emerged as a choice between two very different visions of government whether it occupies a major, front-row place in American lives or is in the background as a less-obtrusive facilitator for private enterprise and entrepreneurship.

The economy was rated the top issue by about 60 per cent of voters surveyed as they left polling places. But more said former President George W. Bush bore responsibility for current circumstances than Obama did after nearly four years in office.

About 4 in 10 said the economy is on the mend, but more than that said it was stagnant or getting worse more than four years after the near-collapse of 2008. The survey was conducted for The Associated Press and a group of television networks.

Polls were still open in much of the country as the two rivals began claiming the spoils of a brawl of an election in a year in which the struggling economy put a crimp in the middle class dreams of millions.

While Mr. Obama spent the final day of his final campaign in Chicago, Mr. Romney raced to Ohio and Pennsylvania for Election Day campaigning and projected confidence as he flew home to Massachusetts. “We fought to the very end, and I think that's why we'll be successful,” he said, adding that he had finished writing a speech anticipating victory but nothing if the election went to his rival.

But the mood soured among the Republican high command as the votes came in and Mr. Obama ground out a lead in critical States.

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Earlier:

Obama wins second term

Washington, November 7: President Barack Obama won re-election on Tuesday night despite a fierce challenge from Republican Mitt Romney as well as the weak economy and high unemployment that encumbered his first term and crimped the middle class dreams of millions.

The President sealed his victory in Ohio, Iowa, New Hampshire and Colorado, four of the nine battleground States where the two rivals and their allies spent nearly $1 billion on dueling television commercials.

“This happened because of you. Thank you,” Mr. Obama tweeted to supporters as he secured four more years in the White House.

Ultimately, the result of the brawl of an election campaign appeared likely to be the political status quo. Democrats won two more years of control of the Senate, and Republicans were on track to do likewise in the House.

Mr. Romney was in Massachusetts, his long and grueling bid for the presidency at an unsuccessful end.

The 51-year-old first African-American President was projected by television channel CNN as having won the second term with 274 electoral votes after exit polls gave him California in west coast which has 55 electoral votes.

It projected Mr. Romney has having secured 201 votes in an electoral college of 535 votes. The winner has to garner at least 270 votes.

Till California was called, Mr. Romney had a comfortable lead over the President with another crucial state Florida saw a tight race between the two with a slight edge for Obama. Florida has 29 electoral votes.

CNN projected that Pennsylvania with 20 electoral votes would go to Obama, while it predicted that Republicans will keep control of the US House of Representatives.

CNN also projected that the powerful U.S. Senate will still be controlled by the Democrats.

Moments after network predicted his victory, Mr. Obama went online to thank voters for giving him a second term.

“This happened because of you. Thank you. Four more years,” Mr. Obama tweeted on his official account.

As television networks projected that Obama was on the road to victory once again, his supporters flooded the campaign headquarters in Chicago, the hometown of the President. Celebrations erupted as Democrats raised slogans and reveled in victory.

Hundreds and thousands of supporters of Mr. Obama across the country from his home town Chicago to Times Square in New York erupted in celebrations.

Official results are yet to be declared and Romney is also yet to concede defeat.

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President Barack Obama's supporters cheer at his election night party late Tuesday in Chicago.


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News Network
April 2,2020

United Nations, Apr 2: The global economy could shrink by up to one per cent in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, a reversal from the previous forecast of 2.5 per cent growth, the UN has said, warning that it may contract even further if restrictions on the economic activities are extended without adequate fiscal responses.

The analysis by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) said the COVID-19 pandemic is disrupting global supply chains and international trade. With nearly 100 countries closing national borders during the past month, the movement of people and tourism flows have come to a screeching halt.

"Millions of workers in these countries are facing the bleak prospect of losing their jobs. Governments are considering and rolling out large stimulus packages to avert a sharp downturn of their economies which could potentially plunge the global economy into a deep recession. In the worst-case scenario, the world economy could contract by 0.9 per cent in 2020," the DESA said, adding that the world economy had contracted by 1.7 per cent during the global financial crisis in 2009.

It added that the contraction could be even higher if governments fail to provide income support and help boost consumer spending.

The analysis noted that before the outbreak of the COVID-19, world output was expected to expand at a modest pace of 2.5 per cent in 2020, as reported in the World Economic Situation and Prospects 2020.

Taking into account rapidly changing economic conditions, the UN DESA's World Economic Forecasting Model has estimated best and worst-case scenarios for global growth in 2020.

In the best-case scenario with moderate declines in private consumption, investment and exports and offsetting increases in government spending in the G-7 countries and China global growth would fall to 1.2 per cent in 2020.

"In the worst-case scenario, the global output would contract by 0.9 per cent instead of growing by 2.5 per cent in 2020," it said, adding that the scenario is based on demand-side shocks of different magnitudes to China, Japan, South Korea, the US and the EU, as well as an oil price decline of 50 per cent against our baseline of USD 61 per barrel.

The severity of the economic impact will largely depend on two factors - the duration of restrictions on the movement of people and economic activities in major economies; and the actual size and efficacy of fiscal responses to the crisis.

A well-designed fiscal stimulus package, prioritising health spending to contain the spread of the virus and providing income support to households most affected by the pandemic would help to minimise the likelihood of a deep economic recession, it said.

According to the forecast, lockdowns in Europe and North America are hitting the service sector hard, particularly industries that involve physical interactions such as retail trade, leisure and hospitality, recreation and transportation services. Collectively, such industries account for more than a quarter of all jobs in these economies.

The DESA said as businesses lose revenue, unemployment is likely to increase sharply, transforming a supply-side shock to a wider demand-side shock for the economy.

Against this backdrop, the UN-DESA is joining a chorus of voices across the UN system calling for well-designed fiscal stimulus packages which prioritize health spending and support households most affected by the pandemic.

Urgent and bold policy measures are needed, not only to contain the pandemic and save lives, but also to protect the most vulnerable in our societies from economic ruin and to sustain economic growth and financial stability, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs Liu Zhenmin said.

The analysis also warns that the adverse effects of prolonged economic restrictions in developed economies will soon spill over to developing countries via trade and investment channels.

A sharp decline in consumer spending in the European Union and the United States will reduce imports of consumer goods from developing countries.

Developing countries, particularly those dependent on tourism and commodity exports, face heightened economic risks. Global manufacturing production could contract significantly, and the plummeting number of travellers is likely to hurt the tourism sector in small island developing States, which employs millions of low-skilled workers, it said.

Meanwhile, the decline in commodity-related revenues and a reversal of capital flows are increasing the likelihood of debt distress for many nations. Governments may be forced to curtail public expenditure at a time when they need to ramp up spending to contain the pandemic and support consumption and investment.

UN Chief Economist and Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development Elliot Harris said the collective goal must be a resilient recovery which puts the planet back on a sustainable track. We must not lose sight how it is affecting the most vulnerable population and what that means for sustainable development, he said.

The alarms raised by UN-DESA echo another report, released on March 31, in which UN experts issued a broad appeal for a large-scale, coordinated, comprehensive multilateral response amounting to at least 10 per cent of global gross domestic product (GDP).

According to estimates by the Johns Hopkins University, confirmed coronavirus cases across the world now stand at over 932,600 and over 42,000 deaths.

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News Network
May 28,2020

Geneva, May 28: The global death toll from the novel coronavirus has risen over the past 24 hours by 5,581 to 349,095, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in its daily situation report.

The number of confirmed cases has increased by 84,314 to 5,488,825, the WHO said.

Most cases of infection are recorded in the Americas (North and South America) - 2,495,924, with 145,810 deaths. While Europe has reported 2,061,828 cases and 1,76,226 deaths so far.

As per WHO tally, the US has the highest number of cases in the world with 1,63,4010 infections.

The global health body declared the outbreak of the new coronavirus a pandemic on March 11.

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Agencies
July 9,2020

The new visa regulations requiring international students in the US with an F-1 visa to take at least one in-person course or face the prospect of deportation is likely to "cause uncertainties and difficulties" for some students, the Indian Embassy has said.

"These new modifications at a time when many of the US universities and colleges are yet to announce their plans for the new academic year are likely to cause uncertainties and difficulties for some Indian students wishing to pursue their studies in the US," said a spokesperson of the Indian Embassy.

Responding to media queries, the spokesperson said the Indian government has taken up the matter with concerned US officials.

At the India US Foreign Office Consultations held on July 7, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla conveyed India's concerns on the matter to Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale.

According to a recent report of Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP), there were 1,94,556 Indian students enrolled in various academic institutions of the US in January this year. Of these 1,26,132 were males and 68,405 were females.

Noting that partnership in higher education is a key component of the strong people-to-people ties between India and the US, the spokesperson said in the last two decades Indian students in American universities and colleges have been the harbingers of a strong partnership between technology and innovation sectors between the two countries.

The spokesperson hoped that the US authorities would provide adequate flexibility in their visa rule, keeping in mind the extraordinary circumstances created by the COVID-19 pandemic for the Indian students community.

We continue to engage all the stakeholders in the matters, including the US administration officials, Congressional leaders, universities and colleges as well as the Indian students community in the US as we move forward towards the 2020-21 academic year to further strengthen our bilateral partnership in higher education, the spokesperson said.

Announced by the SEVP on July 6, the new rules provide temporary exemptions for nonimmigrant students on F-1 and M-1 visas taking online classes due to the COVID-19 pandemic for the fall semester of the 2020 academic year.

While these modifications do provide some flexibility for US universities and colleges to adopt a hybrid model -- that is a mixture of online and in person classes -- they also restrict international students on F-1 and M-1 visas from taking courses entirely online, the spokesperson said.

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