The first African-American U.S. President, Barack Obama, won reelection and will remain in the White House for another four years.
Cheers erupted through Golden Hall in downtown San Diego as results were announced.
Two women hugged and kissed each other on the cheeks.
Karen Johnson, a Democratic voter, had a smile on her face.
“I’m beyond ecstatic,” Johnson said.
When Obama was elected in 2008, he inherited a country in an economic downturn, as well as an unpopular military involvement in the Middle East.
According to PolitiFact’s Obam- eter, the president kept 38 percent of the promises he made to voters during the 2008 election. The meter shows he broke 17 percent of promises and progress is “in the works” for another 20 percent. Despite the broken prom- ises, voters proved last night the U.S. is not done with Obama.
Supporters of both Obama and Gov. Mitt Romney at Golden Hall stood in the crowd, as Obama gained 275 electoral votes.
“Our future is going in the right di- rection,” Johnson said. “I don’t know how you could possibly vote for Rom- ney. As a woman, and as a middle to upper-class citizen, there was no way I would vote for Romney. I just think Obama has a vision for the greater good.”
But, not everyone was overjoyed.
Romney supporters left Golden Hall after the news.
“I am worried about the future of this country,” Republican voter Johnathan Ko said.
“The whole time as president (Obama) has just increased the debt, we needed a businessman in office. I was really hoping and praying this would be our turnaround. Now that he has been reelected, I wonder if we will be able to dig ourselves out of this hole.”
When Obama took control of U.S. policies, economists said the nation had a high chance of slipping into a depression. Obama’s first major act was a $787 billion stimulus package passed by Congress in 2009 with goals, such as job creation and stable health care.
By August, $770.5 billion was spent: $297.8 billion in tax benefits, $235.7 billion in entitlements and $244.3 billion in contracts, grants and loans, according to recovery.gov. Within eight months after its approval, Obama’s stimulus package saved and created more than 550,000 full-time jobs according to Congressional Budget Office.
In December 2011, Obama ended the war in Iraq and withdrew troops from the region. In a recent Maryland presidential campaign event, Obama promised to end the war in Afghanistan by 2014 if reelected.
Also concerning the military, Obama repealed the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy last year, which banned anyone who was openly gay, lesbian or bisexual from serving in the military. Because of Obama’s effort, more than two million service members were trained to accept gay servicemen and servicewomen in the military. Another issue of concern for Obama is the state of education. Obama plans on making college more affordable and accessible to American families.
“We have already expanded student aid; now we need to bring tu- itions down,” Obama said. “That’s why I’m running for president—to give our young people a chance.”
The ballots have been cast and the voters have spoken. Obama has the opportunity to be America’s hope for change for four more years.
