[Official Thread] OBAMA WINS RE-ELECTION

[Mr Bean]

Bean, are you forgetting that if you do go with popular vote, states don't give 100% of their vote to whomever gets a slight lead? If you campaign in states with 55% of the vote and get 60% of the vote landslides there, while saying screw you to the rest, congrats, you still probably lost.

Still does not matter Jogurt, because with those twelve states you have more than enough to win even if you pull 40% in the other states. With 300 million (rounded) if I get 52% of 67% of the total US population I'm at 105 million votes to the other guys 97 million, if he gets 51% of the other 99 million that still means a several million vote win for me. And there are states where I can ignore and still win 60% of the vote. Places like the south where all total the Republican would gain 15 million votes to a Democratic 7 million votes and in that kind of dice close votes the south will swing every election. Not because of they are special but because of how far they swing hard right because in a electoral college the fact that Romney gets a thirty point win over Obama in half a dozen southern states is meaningless, in a popular vote election it means the election.

[Dalton]

So far Mitt has been gracious.

[Losonti Tokash]

Crowd's definitely classier than at McCain's concession.

[Blayne]

Yeah I'm impressed with Mitt right now, yay!

[Mr Bean]

Romney is speaking lets hear it.

But so many other countries with a popular vote system do not have these issues, this reasoning seems very dubious in the face of two important US trends; the deterioration of the eminent sovereignty of the states and of the commonly touted 'melting pot' of the US cultural animus. Regionalism in Canada for instance is frequently criticized as polarizing (see transfer payments) and hindering governance.

You don't have the south where blatant racism is still common place in some states to the point at which we still have school districts in North Carolina draw along racial lines. Areas where you can and will be be stoned for your actions.

[DarkArk]

Romney is pumping up Ryan in hopes for 2016?

Overall not a horrible concession speech. No booing when Obama was mentioned at least.

[Dark Hellion]

Why is it that Republicans can actually seem human and likeable in their concession speeches but can't show this same level of humanity during the campaign.

This Romney is actually likeable.

[Mr Bean]

People are starting to scream stuff, some guy shouted something no idea what he said but it sounded angry.

Is it just me or is this his acceptance speech minus the fact he's not winning?

[Mr Bean]

And it's over wow.... I missed like half of that getting a drink.

[Grandmaster Jogurt]

For people who say the electoral college prevents regional fringe policies from winning nationally, what about a situation where states that have >50% EV also have ~52% support for one candidate who has 0% support elsewhere? That's at least as likely as your hypothetical of 90% support in a large number of states and 45% support elsewhere, and I don't know about you, but I'd rather we get a regionally-popular candidate who is ALSO nationally popular.

[FSTargetDrone]

So passes Willard, son of George, from the national stage.

[Tribun]

It's strange that only now after he's lost, Romney finally was able to show that he can be different.

Quite telling.

[FSTargetDrone]

I wonder if Ryan's presidential hopes are tainted by this result. Americans hate a loser.

[Block]

I wonder if Ryan's presidential hopes are tainted by this result. Americans hate a loser.

I think Americans hated Ryan anyways.

[Highlord Laan]

It's strange that only now after he's lost, Romney finally was able to show that he can be different.

Quite telling.

I chalk it up to "power corrupts." Given the scum he had to associate with to make it this far, I'm surprised he managed to maintain even a shadow of personal integrity. Obama too, for that matter.

[Blayne]

Mathews makes a good point that him being a Mormon was never made a campaign point during this campaign.

[Dark Hellion]

For people who say the electoral college prevents regional fringe policies from winning nationally, what about a situation where states that have >50% EV also have ~52% support for one candidate who has 0% support elsewhere? That's at least as likely as your hypothetical of 90% support in a large number of states and 45% support elsewhere, and I don't know about you, but I'd rather we get a regionally-popular candidate who is ALSO nationally popular.

Jogurt, you have to look at the fact that the East Coast Megalopolis, Chicago, and LA are basically a huge chunk of the population. There's no point to campaign in Maine or Montana or Alabama or even in a place like Rockford, IL because they are so unimportant compared to New York City or Boston. The Electoral College isn't a very good system to be sure but at least it makes people campaign in Ohio or Pennsylvania as opposed to simply campaigning in the few major cities that have some giant percentage of the US populace.

[Tribun]

Mathews makes a good point that him being a Mormon was never made a campaign point during this campaign.

Maybe that's an aftereffect of the ridiculous lie that Obama is a muslim. The Democrats obviously didn't want risk to open that can again.

[GrandMasterTerwynn]

I wonder if Ryan's presidential hopes are tainted by this result. Americans hate a loser.

Yeah, he's toastier than a fantasy village after the annual dragon rendezvous. He was the young rock star of the GOP base, and he couldn't save the Romney campaign from a humiliatingly crushing defeat . . . though it probably would've taken an intervention on the part of Mormon Jesus to have saved the Romney campaign from defeat by suicide.

[Masami von Weizegger]

I don't know. Anything other than a honourable concession speech would draw him a lot of criticism from most quarters and I assume he'll continue to dabble in politics after this. He's likely just looking out for number one on his way out of the presidential arena.

I'd say the "real" Romney is the one who says and does what he needs to do to get ahead, just like he did during the campaign and just like he's doing with this concession speech.

[The Duchess of Zeon]

Yes, and it also allows simple concentrations of people to distort a result which respects the entire nation and the interests of intensely different interests across thousands of leagues of incredibly variable ecoregions. The electoral college is one of the few defences we have against a total cultural homogenization that would crush regionalism and localism and pave the way for more suburbanization and more anti-environmentalism, as well as open the way for yet more cultural extremism and for regions literally ruled by hate (like the deep south) to massively distort an election by weighing in with a huge lock-step by race for a particular candidate.

But so many other countries with a popular vote system do not have these issues, this reasoning seems very dubious in the face of two important US trends; the deterioration of the eminent sovereignty of the states and of the commonly touted 'melting pot' of the US cultural animus. Regionalism in Canada for instance is frequently criticized as polarizing (see transfer payments) and hindering governance.

Secondly supposing its true it would crush "regionalism" how is this a bad thing? Otherwise I entirely disagree it will result in more suburbanizing, that is actually a reversing trend in the United States due to demographics and economic trends (more expensive car travel means higher incentive for public transit and living closer to work and friends, etc).

That and we're talking about elections for President whose actual powers in the United States in the executive branch are not so widespread, Congress should be perfectly capable of protecting niche local interests above and beyond what is at best a possibly pleasant side effect of the Electoral College and not its intended purpose.

If that is what you wish then we should construct a system that does so as its intended purpose, and not defend a broken and anachronistic system purely on its side benefits (arguable as they are).

This entire argument is ridiculous because many other supposed "popular vote" states don't even have a freaking direct election presidential system. Some outright have legislatures elect their presidents still, and for most, the head of government is the guy who wins control of the lower house of parliament. I resent and reject any argument based on this ludicrous simplistic notion--what countries have a strong presidential system that elects based on a popular vote? Luminaries like Russia and Argentina and Chile, that's the answer! That's whose company you'd put us in by eliminating the electoral college.

[Block]

Mathews makes a good point that him being a Mormon was never made a campaign point during this campaign.

Meh, I think that's because the President's campaign realized that doing something like that would only turn away Democratic voters. That kind of hatemongering really only works in the deep south which was going to go for Romney anyways.

[Gandalf]

Wow. Concession speech Romney seems so human.

If this is the real Romney, I think election Romney was a bad personality choice.

[Exonerate]

Just like McCain in 2008, Romney's best speech was his concession speech. It feels like it's the only time we get a glimpse of the true candidate and the feeling that they're fundamentally decent people who are forced to take hardline positions they don't really believe in to appease their parties.

[Block]

Wow. Concession speech Romney seems so human.

If this is the real Romney, I think election Romney was a bad personality choice.

I don't think it is. I think debate Romney, the smug dick waiting to attack people is the real Romney, it fits with how he made his money. Techincally, being able to sell oneself like that in a concession speech fits in with that too.