It wasn’t pretty, but President Obama won decidedly. IN THE WEE hours of the morning President Obama took the stage in Chicago and demonstrated once more his strengths and how he “gets it” with today’s USA. WITH HIS MULTI-millions, offshore bank accounts, multiple homes, and other displays of conspicuous consumption, Romney did not resonate with voters.
The campaign was a grind. And for those who came out on top, it’s a good hurt.
Obama dug deep to reinvigorate the masses to believe he still was the better candidate to bring the United States along the road to recovery — if not prosperity.
Republican nominee Mitt Romney was gracious, if not a little slow to come to terms with his defeat. His supporters waited almost two hours after the conclusion was drawn for Romney to address them.
His pain was palpable.
In his concession, Romney gave an authentic appeal for national unity. And though it may be an old refrain, perhaps it will have a new appeal when such a high profile candidate says the country cannot risk partisan bickering to the detriment of the nation.
Yes, stand by your party, but don’t consider compromise as capitulation.
A pan of the camera across the vast crowd showed blacks and whites, Hispanics, Asians, young and old.
The United States is not a country of middle-aged whites. We are a melting pot of races and ethnicities on which Obama capitalized. Obama won disproportionately large majorities among Asians, blacks, Hispanics and the young. Among whites, Obama was favored by only 39 percent. And he still won. Decidedly.
Fifty-nine percent of whites supported Romney, and he lost. Decidedly.
Election results also proved that for many of the lily white, we prefer a man, or woman, who sees and appreciates our country’s increasingly mixed palette. We value those who take our Lady Liberty’s open-arms mantra seriously.
Maybe not in Kansas, but the Republican Party is losing its base precisely because it is the party of the grumpy whites who want to circle the wagons.
Perhaps only a Kennedy can be excused for such profligate wealth and still be in touch with reality.
Over the course of the campaign Romney changed his positions on health care, taxes, defense, and abortion from when he served as governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007. Even in his home state, former constituents voted by a 61-39 margin for Obama.
Obama told us self-government is hard, but if done right, the rewards are enormous. Our form of democracy is still the beacon of hope for fledgling governments precisely because as a country, we determine our destiny.
The take-home lesson is that we all must get more involved with how our local, state and national business is conducted.
Hold your elected officials accountable.
If a voting record is 99 percent Republican or Democrat, that is not a sign of compromise but of blindly following either a party line or that of special interests. That kind of decision-making is particularly worrisome in a state like Kansas where opposition to Republicans is lacking. When elected officials are this “comfortable,” they can get careless with accountability.
We each must take up the mantle to be make sure our voices are heard; our concerns registered. What a wonderful privilege.
— Susan Lynn
