A strong mandate to govern? | Rachel O’Sullivan

The American political system is a relative minefield, as Rachel O’Sullivan discovers in the wake of the 2012 Presidential Election.

     The tone of the 2012 Presidential election was in stark contrast to that of its predecessor. The visions of hope and change that characterised the 2008 campaign evaporated, replaced instead by the harsh realities of the economic downturn and the sheer scale of the problems facing the US. However, for a brief moment on Tuesday night, echoes of 2008 remerged. When Barack Obama addressed the crowd in Chicago after his victory was confirmed, recollections of the tidal wave of euphoria and excitement of 2008 were reignited. Unfortunately any such recollections were quickly quenched. No sooner than his triumph was announced Barack Obama was already packing his bags to return to Washington. The celebrations were over, the task of bringing the US back from the financial abyss had begun.It is difficult not to admire the soaring rhetoric of President Obama's speech on Tuesday. He is undoubtedly one of the most impressive orators of his generation. However this year, unlike in 2008, the words of unity, equality and promise have a hollow tone. In 2008 President Obama proclaimed America a united nation, a country no longer divided by partisan politics. This week he repeated this claim declaring, "We are greater than the sum of our individual ambitions and we remain more than a collection of red states and blue states. We are, and forever will be, the United States of America."I would argue that the opposite in fact is now true. In 2008 the vigour and enthusiasm that propelled the Obama campaign to the White House did appear to suspend the divergent nature of party politics in the US. However any such suspension was merely momentary and the four years of Obama's presidency have seen a strengthening of the partisan division culminating in the long, hard-fought and bitter Presidential campaign.The effects of the party partition in the US were clearly emphasised in the summer of 2011 when a polarisation of economic beliefs between the Republican House of Representatives and the Democratic White House led to the credit rating of the US being downgraded and the plummeting of the value of stocks and shares on Wall Street. Their competing positions on the correct way to deal with the US debt ceiling led to a real fear of financial meltdown. Thus the contrasting positions of the only viable political parties in the US have led to an dangerous prioritisation of political ideology over economic progress. Neither the Republicans nor the Democrats were prepared to concede any political ground in the summer of 2011, with unwelcome and damaging consequences for the US economy.The emergence of the Tea Party on the far-right and the Occupy Wall Street movement on the far-left, are further examples of deepening political division in the US. Thus while President Obama's words of an America moving forward as one united entity sound promising, in reality his claim could not be further from the truth.Obama's commanding victory in the electoral college vote, he received 332 votes to Romney's 206, creates an illusion of a decisive win, however the popular vote tells a different story. President Obama won just 50.5% of the popular vote. This figure can only damage the Presidents democratic mandate as nearly half of all voters did not cast their ballot in his favour. Tight wins in the crucial swing states of Florida, Iowa, Virginia and Ohio add a misleading aura of decisiveness to the President's triumph, whereas in reality he won Florida by only 0.8%, Virginia by 3% and Ohio by less than 2%. Had these determinative swing states swung just a few percentage points to the right, we would have been looking at a different race.The task facing President Obama in the next four years cannot be underestimated. The US is heading towards the so called "fiscal cliff" which will force the government to slash spending and dramatically increase taxes. This is a daunting prospect for any leader and undoubtedly President Obama would have wanted a more commanding level of support from the electorate in order to face this momentous economic challenge. Difficult choices will have to be made and the fact that nearly half of the voting population voted for someone other than the President weakens his authority and could have potentially adverse effects on his ability to push through the decisions he needs to make.On Tuesday night Obama admitted that the hope that helped him to victory should not blind the nation to the "enormity of the tasks ahead or the roadblocks that stand in our path." However while the financial crisis and the fluctuating world economy will ensure that the next four years will be an uphill battle, it is hard not to conclude that if the country would unite, Republicans and Democrats working together, the task ahead would not be as daunting, and the road to recovery would not be as long.