Analysis of the 2012 Elections in the US - Essay Example

The Election The long election cycle is over. Billions of dollars were spent; every word the candi s spoke was overly scrutinized by the media and the already wide ideological gap existing in the nation grew even larger. No doubt a record number of people were “unfriended” on Facebook. All that and nothing of substance changed. The White House and Senate stayed in Democratic control with a majority of Republicans occupying the House of Representatives. The most important, of course, is the re-election of Barack Obama.

That’s the election people were either cheering for or crying over at about 11:10 Eastern Time last November 6. The emotional response was due to the philosophical direction the country as a whole would take. The impact the election result will have cannot be overstated. One of, if not the most important effects of the election is that Affordable health car Act will not be repealed. Millions more Americans will be able to access health care including preventative care without worrying that their insurance company will drop them just because they get sick.

People with pre-existing conditions will finally be able to get insurance. The election literally carried life and death consequences. Speaking of dire consequences, the issue of global warming will have a chance to be seriously addressed. In his first term Obama invested billions in alternative energy projects designed to decrease the nation’s dependency on oil, lessen the use of coal and as a result reduce the amount of carbon dioxide being continuously pumped into the atmosphere. Obama has proven his competency on foreign affairs, the first being the selection of Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State.

Vice President Joe Biden is also a widely respected foreign policy expert. Neither Romney nor Paul Ryan had the slightest bit experience in this vital area. Obama was a tough yet cool operator when giving the order to “take-out” the Somali pirates and Osama bin Laden. He is respected world leader unlike his predecessor. Social issues are another important reason the country is far better off that Obama won. Had Romney won he would have stopped funding Planned Parenthood, a move that would have caused millions of poor women to go without cancer screenings and they certainly couldn’t depend on “Obamacare” to help.

An untold number of women would have unwanted pregnancies resulting in more abortions. No, Romney would have selected Supreme Court Justice to strike down the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. That means more poor women would have unwanted children that were dependent of welfare. No, Romney would have abolished that too. Obama grew up in a middle class environment and understands how important this segment of society is to the economy and social fabric of the nation. Romney grew up privileged and thought 47 percent of the country mooched off the rest.

He would have cut the taxes for the upper five percent of earners expecting the money to “trickle down” to everyone else, an economic gimmick that has been tried twice the last 30 years failing miserably both times. He also would have deregulated industries that pollute the environment and financial institutions that plunged the nation into the Great Recession of 2008. It’s exciting knowing the country is on the right track economically and socially. Though it is disturbing to think how many Americans voted for Romney, at least the majority understood what was at stake.

Millions of people, the environment and the economy will not suffer due to the reckless, irresponsible ideology of the right wing. In addition, the re-election of Obama reaffirms the country is on the right track as far as racial relations although his presidency has shown us how far we have to go as well.