DECISION 2012
By Jasmine Hall and Brandon Noble
Staff Writers
The 2012 election is over, and the results are in.
Barack Obama will be serving a second term as President of the United States. This will mark the third President in a row to serve two consecutive terms.
Obama won with 303 electoral votes to Romney’s 206. Obama was able to take seven of the eight “swing” states, which included Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire, Ohio, Wisconsin, Virginia, and Colorado.
Some crucial issues in the election included the use of marijuana, and gay marriage.
Colorado’s controversial Amendment 64 passed, and become the first state to legalize the possession and sale of marijuana for adults 21 and over. Massachusetts also passed Question 3, also known as the Massachusetts Medical Marijuana Initiative, allowing marijuana to be medically used.
Gay marriage was also a hot topic during the election season. Not only did Maine and Maryland pass measures to legalize same-sex marriage, but also in Wisconsin, Senator Tammy Baldwin became the first openly gay female elected into office.
During Romney’s concession speech, he remained optimistic in his vision of America.
“Our leaders have to reach across the aisle to do the people’s work, and we citizens also have to rise to the occasion.” He said.
Romney went on to thank his supporters and concluded that he wishes that he “had been able to fulfill your hopes to lead the country in a different direction.”
In Obama’s acceptance speech, he commemorated Romney for his efforts and talked about the America he envisioned.
“We are an American family,” he said. “We rise or fall together as one nation and as one people.”
He went on to conclude that, “We are greater than the sum of the individual ambitions and we are made more than a collection of red states and blue states. We are and forever will be the United States of America.”
