The Next Four Years

[NHI]

CNN BREAKING NEWS: LIVE FROM PORTSMOUTH, NH

ROMNEY ANNOUNCES AYOTTE FOR VICE PRESIDENT

"I am honored to serve on the ticket with the man who will be the next President of the United States, Mitt Romney. Our country is in trouble and we need a man with turnaround experience and the business forte to get the economy going again...America needs Mitt!"

Romney and Ayotte hit the trail.

"Certainly a surprise pick by Governor Romney, when the consensus was leading towards Senator Portman of Ohio, the question that I'm sure will arise over the next few days is over her experience and if she's qualified to be President."

"Wolf, those questions are circulating as we speak, with many wondering if Sen. Ayotte is Sarah Palin 2.0. Now when we spoke to the Romney campaign earlier for a statement their response was that Ms. Ayotte is vetted and extremely qualified to be President. The campaign crafted a list of a qualification and attributes for the candidates they vetted and Ms. Ayotte not only passed the qualifications portion, but has the right chemistry with the Governor..."

Tracking Poll: August 20, 2012:

Obama/Biden: 47%

Romney/Ayotte: 45%

[Jerseyrules]

Meh, I'm not that big on Ayotte, but your TLs never disappointed me.  More please

[kingthlayer]

Gee, I wonder how this is gonna end up..

[NHI]

Gee, I wonder how this is gonna end up..

You'll see, I have a few surprises in store.

[NHI]

Romney and Ayotte sit down with Sean Hannity.

"Fellow delegates to this convention, with deep gratitude and great hope for the future I accept your nomination for Vice President of the United States...Mitt Romney is the man for the job. With unemployment above eight percent since the start of President Obama's administration. With millions of Americans out of work. With dashed dreams and talk of American Decline. My fellow citizens it is time for a change, and Mitt Romney is the agent of change America needs. So join with us as we work to fight for American and to bring this country back!"

The Republican Super Star

Tracking Poll: August 29, 2012:

Obama/Biden: 47%

Romney/Ayotte: 47%

[Jerseyrules]

Interesting.  Please continue

[OC]

I don't think Ayotte is gonna be selected, but a good story indeed.

[IDS Legislator Alfred F. Jones]

Go on...

[NHI]

"I will just say I think Governor Romney made an error in picking Sen. Ayotte and it's not because she's a woman or Sarah Palin-lite. It's on the basic principle that she does not have the experience to be President. It was a political calculation, not a presidential one."

"But some will argue President Obama had very little experience when he ran for the office four years ago, so the argument your side is making is null and void?"

"Yes, but one Barack, President Obama selected me as his running mate to counterbalance the inexperience argument, but also you learn on your feet. There is on the job training, no one walks in ready to be President on day one."

"I'll let Sen. Ayotte speak for herself, but what Vice President Biden said is not funny. The idea of having on the job training is the reason we are in the position we're in today. Sen. Ayotte was Attorney General of the State of New Hampshire and has served in the United States Senate. She is ready, otherwise I would not have selected her. Now my suggestion would be to the Vice President is that he and the President start focusing on the economy, rather than these silly sideshow antics."

"I can't wait to debate Joe Biden, because the contrasts are going to be so evident. From the vision Governor Romney is presenting for America, and the vision or lack thereof President Obama is presenting for America."

Tracking Poll: September 4, 2012

Romney/Ayotte: 48%

Obama/Biden: 46%

[Clinton1996]

Gee, I wonder who's gonna win this one.... (cough) Mitt in signature (cough)

[NHI]

"The polls continue to tighten in the race for the White House between President Obama and Governor Mitt Romney.

"This is a horserace, especially in the close states which will decide this election. Ohio, Virginia, Wisconsin, Florida to name a few. Now states colored in solid red are secure for the President, and the same for Governor Romney with the states in blue. States in lighter red or blue slightly favor Obama and Romney respectively and states in yellow are too close to call."

"Even with Sen. Ayotte on the ticket, New Hampshire is still too close."

Obama: 246

Romney: 206

"So John, show our viewers some the scenarios we might see on November 6 for either candidate's victory."

"For President Obama every electoral prediction or calculation we've seen from the campaign shows them winning the states like Colorado and New Mexico which are trending in his favor, New Hampshire, and Wisconsin. This map occurs the President just squeaks by with a narrow victory of 273 to 265.

"Now for the Obama campaign that a worse case scenario, but they think they'll be able to take Ohio, Nevada and Iowa which gives him a comfortable victory of 303 to 235.

"For the Romney campaign their maps consist of carrying Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, Ohio, New Hampshire. If Romney does that he gets to 270 and only 270. Now the map is tougher for Governor Romney, but the campaign thinks they can pickup Wisconsin, Iowa and possibly Nevada, but for now Wolf all this is political parlor games. Nothing will matter until November 6th."

Romney and Ayotte campaign in New Hampshire.

Obama hits the trail in Ohio, chastising Romney's record at Bain.

Tracking Poll: September 28, 2012:

Obama/Biden: 48%

Romney/Ayotte: 47%

Tracking Poll: Ohio

Obama/Biden: 48%

Romney/Ayotte: 48%

Tracking Poll: New Hampshire

Romney/Ayotte: 47%

Obama/Biden: 46%

Tracking Poll: Virginia

Romney/Ayotte: 49%

Obama/Biden: 48%

Tracking Poll: Wisconsin

Obama/Biden: 50%

Romney/Ayotte: 47%

Tracking Poll: Nevada

Obama/Biden: 49%

Romney/Ayotte: 47%

Tracking Poll: Iowa

Obama/Biden: 48%

Romney/Ayotte: 48%

Tracking Poll: Florida

Romney/Ayotte: 50%

Obama/Biden: 48%

[NHI]

CNN ELECTION NIGHT

"I'm Wolf Blitzer and welcome to CNN's Election Night coverage. The Poll have closed in a number of states, but we can make a few projections in the race so far.

"CNN now projects that President Obama is the winner in the state of Vermont.

Vermont: 1%

Obama: 61%

Romney: 37%

"And we project that Governor Romney is the winner in the state of South Carolina."

South Carolina: 2%

Romney: 57%

Obama: 41%

Romney/Ayotte: 9

Obama/Biden: 3

"And we can project that Governor Romney is the winner in the state of Kentucky, another Republican stronghold."

Kentucky: 4%

Romney: 59%

Obama: 39%

[NHI]

"...And CNN can now project that President Obama is the winner in the state of Wisconsin."

Wisconsin: 48%

Obama: 52%

Romney: 46%

"The Obama campaign played for that state, despite a strong presence by the Romney campaign and it stays in the Democrat's column.

Obama/Biden: 169

Romney/Ayotte: 169

"There is still a race in the battleground states of New Hampshire, Ohio, Florida and Virginia."

"Governor Romney is going to need those state if he is to win this election."

"And we project now that President Obama has carried Colorado."

Colorado: 52%

Obama: 53%

Romney: 45%

Ohio: 57%

Obama: 49.5%

Romney: 47.7%

New Hampshire: 71%

Obama: 49.4%

Romney: 49.0%

Virginia: 57%

Obama: 49.1%

Romney: 48.6%

10:21

Obama/Biden: 184

Romney/Ayotte: 179

Iowa: 19%

Obama: 51%

Romney: 47%

"So goes Iowa for President Obama. Another state Governor Romney fails to capture. The question now remains can he close the deal?"

"There are enough states to seal a victory, but it's difficult to say. The longer the projection the better it might be for Romney, but it could be for Obama?"

"Well The Romney campaign can breathe a sigh of relief, Florida will go for Governor Romney."

Florida: 55%

Romney: 50%

Obama: 48%

"And it appears we can now project that state of Nevada for President Obama."

Nevada: 11%

Obama: 51%

Romney: 46%

Romney/Ayotte: 208

Obama/Biden: 190

"Certainly at this hour the Romney campaign is holding their collective breath, is this election over?"

"Governor Romney needs Virginia, Ohio and New Hampshire at least to win the White House and those states get him to exactly 270. Of those three states President Obama needs only one and he'll be able to reach the threshold of 270."

"That is assuming that he carries states like Washington, California and Oregon."

"Yes and by all assumptions the Presidents should win those states easily."

Montana: 30%

Romney: 53%

Obama: 45%

South Dakota: 38%

Romney: 56%

Obama: 43%

Arizona: 39%

Romney: 51%

Obama: 47%

11:41

"And we have a projection to make..."

[NHI]

CNN PROJECTION: OBAMA REELECTED

"With a win in the state of New Hampshire CNN can now project that President Obama has been reelected, putting him just over the finish line with 272 electoral votes."

Obama/Biden: 272

Romney/Ayotte: 232

"Ironically it's the state of New Hampshire that puts the President over the top. Despite having Kelly Ayotte, the Senator from the state, Governor Romney could not carry the state. It goes for Obama with a little under 50% of the vote."

"And the states of Virginia and Ohio still remain unclear at this time."

"With the majority of the vote counted in Ohio it is trending the President's way, but Virginia is too close to call. The candidates have been trading back and forth all night."

"Any word when we'll hear from Governor Romney tonight?"

"Word is coming that Governor Romney will speak at at around midnight eastern standard time, he has reportedly called the President to concede the election, despite rumblings from within the campaign that they were not going to concede because of the narrowness of Obama's victory both in New Hampshire and the uncertainty with Virginia and Ohio, but it appears that tune has changed and they probably have more insight then us and realize now it's over."

CNN: Live from Boston, ROMNEY CONCEDES TO OBAMA. "THE PATH IS CLEARED NOW."

"...And I especially want to thank Sen. Kelly Ayotte. She was a terrific running mate and has a bright future with our party again I thank her for her outstanding dedication and hard work on the campaign...While we weren't successful as I had hoped, I do not want you to blame yourselves, I am the candidate, I gave it my all and in the end the hill was too steep for us to climb, but life goes on. We're Americans, we love this country and we rally together despite our differences because of one common thread, we believe in America."


"Governor Romney has just concede to President Obama, from his Boston headquarters. Certainly a tough night for the former Governor of Massachusetts, but that ends the campaign and now begins phase two, the next four years of the Barack Obama Presidency. But before we dive into what will be facing the President, what went from for Mitt Romney?"

"You know a thought that was recurring from within the Republican and on the trail, he never laid out a plan of what exactly he would do as President. He simply attacked Obama for the economy, but never applied specifics and it hurt him."

"This was a winnable election and the Republicans know it and I'm sure right now people are saying we should have went with Santorum or something equivalent, but the fact is Governor Romney despite all his baggage did give the President a run for his money. He returned Indiana, North Carolina and Florida and probably Virginia into the Republican column. He just couldn't close the deal."

"Look unemployment stands at 8.0%, the Republicans should have won this election, but it came down to Romney's lack of specifics and the ability of the Obama campaign to do what the Bush campaign did to Kerry. They made Romney seem like an unacceptable alternative. Now Obama has difficulties, the country is still divided, the economy is tanking. He has a big job ahead of him, and by no means should he or the Democrats take tonight as a mandate, whatever the final result is, this is a close election and if the trend continues a state could have made the difference."

"And CNN is now projecting that Governor Romney will carry Virginia."

"There you go, four states back for the GOP."

"Where does the party go from here?"

"The party has to reevaluate itself. The consensus from the right wing like Limbaugh and Hannity is that the candidates need to go farther right and that someone like Santorum or Gingrich should have been the nominee. That's the mistake, the farther right this party goes, that way madness lies."

"Look under normal circumstances Governor Romney should have beaten the President. With his business record, the Olympics and his tenure in Massachusetts as Governor. Under that scenario if Romney could have run on his full record he would have beaten him. The Republican Party has gone so far to the right that Romney had to ignore his entire record of elected office and that's sad."

"The Party will have to move back towards the center if it intends to win anymore Presidential elections, because divisive issues like birth control, abortion and even gay marriage are not going to help them."

"It's more than that. The Party has to connect with middle America, the youth. It cannot be a minority party, built on wins in the south. In the words of Ronald Reagan, they have to become a big tent party, once again."

"And they cannot enact a purity test with their candidates."

"So essentially, the Tea Party?"

"The Tea Party is why Mitt Romney is not President tonight, in my humble view. Despite all his baggage and missteps, Romney is poised to close tonight with at least 248 electoral votes, possibly 266 if he gets Ohio. So Romney is not John McCain tonight, like Kerry he narrowly lost to a weak incumbent. The Tea Party presence made Romney go so far to the right on women's rights issue, education, abortion, immigration that he boxed himself in. He could not reintroduce himself, because the Obama campaign already characterized him to the public as an unacceptable president."

"Despite the campaign's push on Bain it did not hurt Romney like some think. Romney lost because Obama painted him like George Bush did to John Kerry, and asked the question without saying it: Do you really want him as President."

9:18 AM, November 7th, 2012

Obama Squeaks By...

Four More Years, Romney Concedes, Democrats Retain Senate, Republicans House

Obama/Biden: 272 49.08%

Romney/Ayotte: 266 49.26%

More to Come. Let the Games begins...

[IDS Legislator Alfred F. Jones]

What are the congressional numbers?

[NHI]

What are the congressional numbers?

Senate:
Democrats: 50
Republicans: 48
Independents: 2

House:
Republicans: 240
Democrats: 195

[Clinton1996]

What were the margins in Ohio and Virginia? If Obama was leading by so much in Iowa, Colorado, and Nevada how did Romney eek out victories in those 2 states? Other than that, you've done it again. Great time line so far.

[NHI]

Narrowest of narrow victories for Romney in Ohio and Virginia.

Ohio:
Romney: 49.38%
Obama: 49.21%

Virginia:
Romney: 49.59%
Obama: 49.08%

I also wanted to give a scenario where Romney would win the popular vote, but lose the electoral vote.

[Jayhawker]

Your timelines are always very impressive!

[kingthlayer]

I will eat crow.. I totally misjudged you from the start. Would really be interested in seeing your outline of a second Obama term!

[RedPrometheus]

Great timeline! Looking forward to the next update!

[NHI]

OBAMA SWORN IN FOR SECOND TERM: "New Era Begins Today."

"...The battles of the last four years are over, together both parties Democrats and Republicans must work together, united and for the good of the people. For that is what they deserve. A country worthy of the works of the founders... Let us strive towards that idealistic vision of a more perfect union. That is my pledge and I intend to carry it out. Thank you, God Bless you and God Bless The United States of America."   

"We intend to see that this President's agenda is stalled."

"I've got a two-fold problem. I have to ensure that we can actually govern with the President, and keep my caucus in line."

"For middle class families your taxes will not be going up. Those who make $250,000 and up will be asked to pay a little more. Now I don't call that socialism or redistributive welfare, like my critics charge, I call it fairness."

CNN BREAKING NEWS:

"And we are getting word of Republican turmoil within the party leadership. The fight is reportedly starting from a disagreement between Senate Minority and Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Harry Ried and House Speaker John Boehner."

"No confirmation yet, but there are rumblings that following a meeting with the President today, Speaker Boehner was ready to agree on a deal with the President that would allow for taxes to go up on those making $250,000 a year, with spending cuts in unspecified areas. From what we are told Mitch McConnell left the meeting and would not accept the deal. We are are also hearing that talk of this proposed deal is causing a rift within the Republican Caucus on the House side, with some members such as Allen West calling for Boehner to step aside as Speaker."

"Speaker Boehner does not understand what our role is in the House and therefore he should step aside as Speaker."

[NHI]

CNN: Boehner to remain as Speaker; Deal Breaks Down with Pres. Obama

"It saddens me that my Republicans colleagues want continue with the same old games that we battled over for the last four years. I mean to be blunt, the election is over. Now is the time for governing. Unless the Republican Party wants to be the minority party forever or just collapse entirely now is there is chance to take a stand for once and show leadership."

"The President wants to talk about leadership, how is raising taxes on Americans the answer?"

"He is the most divisive, outlandish, destructive president and I think we'll have no economy left by 2017."

"The Republican Party is shooting itself in the foot. It seems the party is setting itself up for failure in 2014 and probably 2016. They obviously didn't learn the lesson from 2012, well some on the right maybe ready to work, but the hardcore right is ready to thrown down the gauntlet and is all in a tizzy over Barack Obama."

CNN PROJECTION: JANUARY UNEMPLOYMENT NUMBERS: 7.7%

"The unemployment rate sees it's biggest drop in months. President Obama's reelection hinged on this and managed to pull it off with an unemployment at 8.0%. November saw unemployment state at 8.0%, but December saw unemployment fall to 7.9%."

Obama Approval Rating:

Approve: 50%

Disapprove: 39%

[mondale84]

Interesting...please continue

[NHI]

Next update coming either Wednesday or Thursday