Barack Obama wins another four years as President of the United States
with promise 'the best is yet to come' and vowed: 'I will return to the White House more determined and inspired than ever’. Obama was once again rhetorical when he said: ‘listened and learned’ from the American people during his campaign.
He was quite loud when he said: 'Progress comes in fits and starts’ and
the road is littered with ‘difficult compromises.' But he said he enters the next four years with an 'economy recovering, a decade of war ending and a long campaign is over.'
He paid tribute to his opponent and hopes they can 'work together in the coming weeks'. This bipartisanship had been echoed by Romney moments earlier during his concession speech.
Romney called for America to 'put the people before politics' and warned, 'At a time like this we can't risk partisan bickering and political posturing.' He added, 'I so wish that I had been able to fulfill your hopes to lead this country in a different direction. But the nation chose another leader.'
Broadcast networks called the 2012 election for Obama at 11.15pm as
he swept the map with wins in the swing states of Ohio, Iowa, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire and Virginia. Florida still hung in the balance this morning, though the president had a very narrow lead there, as well.
The 100 percent of precincts reporting, Obama had an advantage of 46,000 votes -- though news outlets were hesitant to declare him the winner in the Sunshine State, which has a notoriously close election history.
Obama scored a resounding electoral college win - despite predictions of one of the tightest finishes in history and the dogged insistence of Romney advisers that they were making gains all over the political battlefield.
He looked set to win either 332 or 309 electoral college votes, depending
on the outcome in Florida, with Romney far behind with 206 or 235. There are 538 electoral college votes in total, meaning that a candidate must win 270 to make it to the White House.
Despite unemployment standing at 7.9 per cent and Obama performing very poorly during the first presidential debate, Romney was crushed in the electoral college, though the popular vote will prove much tighter.
With votes still left to be counted in nearly every state, Obama had 58,932,757 votes to Romney's 56,583,680. The President claimed 50.2 percent of the popular vote. About 48.2 percent of the nation supported the Republican challenger.
Minutes after his victory was announced, the President tweeted: 'We're
all in this together. That's how we campaigned, and that's who we are. Thank you.' He also posted a picture of himself embracing his wife Michelle - and the post rapidly became the most popular tweet of all time.
He took to the stage at his campaign headquarters in Chicago to the sounds of Stevie Wonder's 'Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours,' before delivering his powerful speech looking toward the future, saying: 'We know in our hearts that for the United States of America the best is yet to come.'
Obama thanked the citizens who had participated in the political process: 'Whether you held an Obama sign or a Romney sign, you made your voice heard and you made a difference.'
He revealed that speaking to Romney, he 'congratulated him and (vice presidential nominee) Paul Ryan on a hard-fought campaign,' adding a tribute to the Romney family's history, saying: 'From George and Lenore to their son Mitt, the Romney family has chosen to give back to America through public service and that is a legacy that we honour and applaud tonight.'
Referring to the bitterness of the long-running election campaign, the President said, 'When we go through tough times - when we go through tough decisions as a country - it necessarily provokes arguments, provokes controversy,' but he added: 'These arguments we have are a mark of our liberty.'
In his conclusion, Obama said: 'I believe we can keep the promise of our founders, the idea that if you're willing to work hard, it doesn't matter who you are or where you come from or what you look like or where you love. It doesn't matter whether you're black or white or Hispanic or Asian or Native American or young or old or rich or poor, able, disabled, gay or straight, you can make it here in America if you're willing to try.
'I believe we can seize this future together because we are not as divided as our politics suggests. We're not as cynical as the pundits believe. 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.'
In a moment of lightness in an otherwise gritty address, he thanked his wife and also paid tribute to his daughters Sasha and Malia who he said were ‘two smart beautiful young women, just like their mother’, but joked ‘one dog is probably enough’.
The Obamas embraced Vice President Joe Biden and his wife Janna, as well as a large number of other relatives and supporters, as Bruce Springsteen's anthem We Take Care of Our Own blared over the arena's speakers.
Romney called Obama to concede defeat shortly before 1am, a few minutes before he took to take the stage at his Boston headquarters to deliver his gracious concession speech and announced, 'I have just called the President to congratulate him on his victory.'
He thanked his family for their support, saying his wife Ann 'would have been a wonderful First Lady', and also praised his running mate Paul Ryan: 'Besides my wife Ann, Paul is the best choice I've ever made.'
He then concluded his short speech by saying: 'Thank you and God bless America. You guys are the best - thank you so much.'
After Obama spoke to Romney, he immediately called former President Bill Clinton, one of his most important supporters whose speech to the Democratic convention in September was credited with giving the campaign a significant boost.
The President quickly received congratulations from world leaders - with the prime ministers of close allies Britain and Israel among the first to send messages of goodwill. David Cameron tweeted congratulations to 'my friend Barack Obama', while Benjamin Netanyahu wrote that the two countries' friendship was 'closer than ever'.
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