As an American
Studies student, I have a keen interest in the country itself and what is going
on there. I’m going to talk briefly about the two candidates, and the main
issues that are pinnacle in this election. PRESS
How US voting
system works
First I’m going to quickly talk about how the US voting
system works. The winning candidate isn’t decided by the total or popular vote
but by individual states. Voters choose "electors", who are pledged a
specific candidate, and they are altogether known as the Electoral College. Because
states are all various sizes, it would not be accurate to allow each state to
have equal weighting in the final process. For example California has a
population of 36million, Kansas has 3 million. So In order for there to a
proportionate result, those that have a greater population have more districts
and more influence over the winner. This brings into play the importance of
winning support of big populace states such as Ohio and Florida. To become
president, a candidate needs 270 Electoral College votes which they accumulate
from states.
Basics/Background
Here are a few basics about the Presidents lives.
Obama's is a Democrat. He was brought up in Indonesia, the
world's largest Muslim country by population. This is something that came to
fuel right-wing conspiracy theories that he was not born in the US, or that he
was a secret Muslim. He graduated from Harvard law school in 1991 and worked as
a civil rights lawyer, before becoming a state senator and eventually climbing
his way up to Presidency. He’s a protestant and 51 now
Mitt Romney originated from a very conservative Republican
family, serving as a Mormon missionary, then going on to study Politics and
business at Harvard. His background lies heavily with business, managing a
consulting firm and founding a venture capital firm. He then ran the 2002 Salt
Lake City Olympics, before taking the position of governor of Massachusetts.
Economic issues –
The economy is probably the most important issue in this
year’s election. People want to know how unemployment, taxes, and the federal
government's $14 trillion debt will be dealt with. With the near-collapse of
the U.S. banking and financial system hitting late in the 2008 race, and the nosedive
in employment levels, President Obama's time in the White house has been
defined by the economy and the worst recession in a lifetime.
Obama had already done a great deal of work during his
presidency for the economy. He signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment
Act, known as the stimulus, a package of tax cuts and investments. Obama
strives to strengthen the middle class by asking for wealthy to pay a little
bit extra in order to cut down the debt.
He wants to invest in education and manufacturing to grow the economy
long term.
Romney believes taxes should be lower for all citizens, so
wants to cut back tax for the rich, and deregulate big banks. He believes the
importance lies with a growing successful private sector as opposed to
government initiatives. He also worries about superpowers like China, and he
believes it is necessary to encourage business and competition to ensure
America is on top in the foreign markets.
Domestic policies – things
that impact US citizens on a day to day basis.
Energy and environment – Obama is placing great emphasis on
energy and environmental policies and sees it as a global threat. He believes
he can create new jobs in the Clean Energy Economy, which cannot be outsourced
abroad. He wants the US to be a leader
in tackling climate change too, and plans to do this by promoting the next
generation of cars, developing more renewable energy sources and promoting
energy efficiency.
Romney believes
energy independence is important so that America isn’t tied down to oil rich
countries and can become an economic and military superpower in itself. He
thinks each country should be doing their own bit to cut down carbon emissions
independently. He also wants to strip the Environmental Protection Agency of
many of its power, including its Clean Air Act mandate. This could have a great
impact on America’s co2 emissions.
Immigration – Obama
recognises the need to strengthen border control to prevent illegal immigration
but he also proposes allowing unauthorized immigrants who are married to, or
children of, a citizen to stay in the country while they apply for permanent
residency status. He is much more laid back on this issue than Romney and is
focusing enforcement of immigration laws on immigrants who endanger
communities, as opposed to "low-priority cases," such as
"students.
Romney
Romney has very
different ideas on the subject of immigration reform. Romney tends to emphasize
border security and immigration systems that will benefit the economy. He is
looking to create immigration policy that maximize America’s economic
potential. Foreign-born residents with advanced degrees are able to start
companies, create jobs, and create new products. Additionally, he wants to
improve the "exit verification" system to make sure that immigrants
do not overstay their temporary visas and that he would encourage migrants to
"self-deport" if they wish to do so.
Healthcare
Obama’s extensive
2010 healthcare reform known as the Affordable Care Act or ‘Obamacare’, aims for
universal health insurance coverage, and requires individuals who are not covered
to purchase insurance. The Affordable healthcare act ensures insurers' can’t deny
or limit coverage to those who have had previous health problems. He also wants
to strengthen the Medicaid and Medicare programmes which guarantee health
insurance for the elderly and poor.
If Mitt Romney was to
become President, he would repeal Obamacare on day one of his presidency. By
doing so he would deny health insurance to around 30million who would have
received it and force healthcare bills to soar for the uninsured. Romney wishes
to return most health policy to the states and would encourage individuals
without insurance to buy it on the private market. Mitt will create policies
that give each state the power to make their own health care reform plan that
is best for its own citizens as opposed to the government having too much
control. press
Stances on social
issues
Obama supports gay
rights and believes same sex couples should be allowed to marry, making him the
first US president to ever hold such views. ; Before this he pushed Congress to
repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy, allowing gays to serve openly in the
military.
Romney opposes
same-sex marriage and believes marriage should be defined as between a man and
a woman but discourages.
Obama is strongly
pro-choice and supports keeping abortion legal, despite the costs and stage of
pregnancy. He says that by having this stance, he not only “protects a woman’s health and reproductive freedom, but also
affirms a broader principle: that government should not intrude on private
family matters.”
Romney previously
supported a woman’s right to decide, but he is now adamantly opposed to
abortions, unless it involves cases of rape, incest or if the mother’s life is
in mortal danger.
Conclusion - Who
is likely to win and why- Romney unreliable candidate (tax returns).
Latest election polls
are slightly in Obama’s favour but all depends on whether or not voters all
come out on the day. Many polls can be
unpredictable. I believe that Romney has a chance of winning but Obama has a
strong following. Romney says here that he believe 47% of the country believe
they are entitled to hand-outs so will automatically vote for him. Also Romney failed to gain much momentum in
the TV debates.
