By PETER NICHOLAS and CAROL E. LEE
President Barack Obama won re-election Tuesday in a closely fought race, overcoming the doubts of a nation ravaged by a prolonged economic downturn and setting up a test of whether he can forge a productive second term in a divided political system.
Mr. Obama’s victory in the bruising campaign marks a landmark in modern election history. No sitting president since Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1940 has won re-election with a higher unemployment rate, which stands at 7.9%. It is also the first time since 1816 the U.S. has had three consecutive two-term presidents.
In retaining the presidency, Mr. Obama, 51 years old, defeated former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, 65, who had been seeking the office for six years.
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“We may have battled fiercely, but it’s only because we love this country deeply and we care so strongly about its future,” the president said in a victory speech that came after 1:30 a.m. Eastern time. He said he would meet with Mr. Romney in the coming weeks to discuss various issues confronting the country.
“I so wish that I had been able to fulfill your hopes to lead the country in a different direction. But the nation chose another leader,” said Mr. Romney in his concession speech.
Propelling Mr. Obama to victory was the unique coalition he forged four years ago, one that reflects the changing nature of the U.S. electorate—notably, the diminished influence of white Americans and the rising clout of Latino voters.
Greeting Mr. Obama will be a divided Congress. Democrats retained their Senate majority while Republicans looked set to keep control of the House of Representatives. After the election, Washington remained aligned exactly as it was Tuesday morning, despite $6 billion in spending and 1.2 million political ads in the presidential race alone.Americans handed Mr. Obama the job of navigating conflicting impulses in both Washington and the nation, a partisan divide the president has previously struggled to master.
Despite Mr. Romney’s focus on the economy, pitching himself as a onetime businessman capable of fixing what ails the U.S., he couldn’t overcome missteps and attacks from Democrats over his work as a private-equity executive. Continue reading here
Source: WSJ
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