11/06/2012

Last night America spoke once more and it chose the leader of not only the US but also the free world. President Obama will move on for another four years and will attempt to make history beyond the history he has made thus far. This bit I am writing does not focus on President Obama, Mitt Romney, or any political affiliations. I want to focus on one specific symbol of what makes democracy a true wonder.

Last night as the results came in they were reflecting on  the Empire State building until Obama won and then the top of the building turned blue. That particular turn became an instant symbol of the perennial hope that America has for progress. I am not saying it was Hope because of Obama but the hope of a population coming together and believing in the principles of democracy that make this country the greatest bastion of progress.

People sit and criticize the US but we have the power to make that difference and it is a responsibility that we need to cherish in multiple respects. It was a great feeling to see the level of jubilation at the people's ability to chose the person they wanted wether or not that person was triumphant. It was great to once again see the greatness of democracy in action.

WHO WINS? WHO CARES?

On November 6th 2012 the country will make a pilgrimage of sorts to the polls. More than likely this will be the closest election since JFK defeated Richard Nixon in 1960 by a margin of 120,000 votes. The difference is that now I seriously doubt that the level of regard for the winner and feeling of true hope will be there.

It doesn't matter if Obama gets re elected or Romney wins because the fact remains that change will not occur over night. Romney will not be able to just shut down PBS and push himself forward because while Republicans have one house Democrats have another. I seriously doubt that the next 4 years will bring about significant change.

For Romney to have a successful time implementing policy he will have to do a complete overhaul of measures going back to Bush and not just Obama. For Obama to have a better second term he will have to adjust a lot domestically in order to have any success. The truth is that economy is cyclical and only changes as the habits of all consumers change. The economy is affected by issues such as military spending but truthfully Military spending only increases during periods of serious conflict and those periods only come around every ten to fifteen years on a serious world scale.

More than likely there will be issues with the voting especially on battleground states that are likely to swing either way. In the end there will be one man at the helm starting with promise, and hope for change but in the end it will be a number of factors that will make that man a significant historical figure. Who will win? Who really cares?