All hail the Prezi-dent!

He’s back. After one of the hardest fought Presidential elections in recent years, Barack Obama was re-elected back into the White House for four more years. How did he do it, and what does this mean for the world in general?

I’m obsessed with American politics.  I find the two-party collegiate system infinitely more fascinating than our own first-past-the-post electoral process.  I find it incredible that the decision to elect who many people consider to be the most powerful man on the planet comes down to a relative handful of US citizens in the so-called swing-states.  America is historically divided between Democrat voters and Republican voters, many of whom vote the same way their parents, grandparents and great-grandparents do and did.  90% of the election results can be predicted well in advance because of this, making those few states where voters are undecided key in deciding the eventual winner.  This Prezi  brilliantly illustrates how this works, and how this election was won by President Obama.  You can also watch both his victory speech, and the concession speech given by the Republican candidate Mitt Romney.

What does President Obama’s re-election mean for the people of the world?  With the incumbent returning for four more years, each country in the world knows what they are getting.  There is no new president with an unknown mandate; no new boy who has to learn the ropes when it comes to foreign policy.  With Obama, there is a certain amount of stability in this respect.  In the USA, he faces great challenges, particularly regarding the economy.  The USA has huge problems with unemployment and the President now has four more years to address this and to create his lasting legacy.

I hope that I’ve given you plenty of interesting vocabulary to look at.  What are your thoughts about the US elections?  Let us know in the comments section below.  Thanks for reading.

By Andy

Glossary

re-elected - (v.) to be chosen to lead a country again

obsessed - (adj.) to have a very strong interest in something

collegiate - (adj.) the system of giving a certain number of points to a state based on the size of it's population e.g. California has 55 votes whereas New York has just 29.

infinitely - (adv.) immeasurably

fascinating - (adj.) very interesting

first-past-the-post - (adj.) determined by the candidate with the most votes

handful - (n.) a small amount

swing-state - (n.) a state where the inhabitants vote in unpredictable ways

key - (n.) something which is very important in a process or situation

illustrates - (v.) shows

concession - (adj.) from the verb concede, meaning to give up and accept that you have lost a competition

incumbent - (n.) the holder of a job, particularly used in politics

mandate - (n.) a set of beliefs or ideas

learn the ropes - (idiom) to learn how to do something new

foreign policy - (adj.+n.) a particular government's relationship with other countries

stability - (n.) continuing without change

lasting legacy - (adj.+n.) the eventual outcome of something and it's effect in the future