SETTING THE STAGE. News in Review December 2012 Teacher Resource Guide U.S. ELECTION: OBAMA RE ELECTED. Check It Out

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1 News in Review December 2012 Teacher Resource Guide U.S. ELECTION: OBAMA RE ELECTED SETTING THE STAGE A YouTube clip of a little girl crying and saying she was tired of Bronco Bamma and Mitt Romney captured the sentiments of many Americans in the final days before Election Day. Although election night fell on November 6, 2012, the campaign for president began as early as 2010 in the national media, and in a concerted way by both parties in By January 2012 a full 10 months before election night over 50 per cent of Americans reported that the election campaign had already been going on too long (Pew Research Center, January 18, 2012). Every four years on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November Americans go to the polls to elect their president. Election Day 2012 saw the Democratic President Barack Obama square off again the Republican candidate, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney. By all accounts, it was a long and bitter campaign. Both candidates were involved in negative campaigning pointing out the weaknesses of their opponents rather than focusing on the policy issues at hand and both candidates were sometimes defensive, changed their positions, made exaggerated statements, and ridiculed the other. This is not unusual for election campaigns, but when President Obama was elected in 2008 he had run a fairly clean campaign. One that focused on hope and change, and the promise that he could unite Americans from different political persuasions, and work with politicians across party lines. So his campaign for the 2012 election stood in marked contrast to the 2008 campaign. But times had changed since President Obama was elected in The President inherited a Check It Out A YouTube clip of a little girl crying because she was sick of hearing about the American election showed up in news broadcasts around the world. three trillion dollar deficit when he took office, and then had to deal with an economic collapse, the depth of which had not been seen since the Great Depression of the 1920s. Many of the promises he d made in 2008 were quickly overshadowed by the economic crisis. Despite the extremely difficult financial situation he faced, President Obama did deliver on a number of his promises from the 2008 campaign. He introduced a health care reform bill, withdrew American troops from Afghanistan, and worked to improve the reputation of the United States around the world. Supporters of Republican challenger Mitt Romney felt that President Obama s fiscal plan was flawed. They wanted to reduce taxes to stimulate the economy, and they argued that Obama and the Democratic Party were moving the country in a direction that was far too liberal. 12

2 This was because the Democrats support reproductive choice for women, same-sex marriage and reform to immigration. The Republicans, on the other hand, supported policies that were more socially conservative. The Republican Party is not pro-choice, and some of its members hold the position that abortion should be illegal, even in cases where a woman is raped. They also do not believe in same-sex marriage, and some members of the party believe that homosexuality itself is a sin. They believe that America needs to return to its roots: a socially conservative country, with less government. Although the election result was very close too close to call before election night the results were very interesting. The Republicans had the most support from white males, especially those over 30 years of age. The Democrats had the most support from women, immigrants, black Americans, and younger Americans across racial and ethnic lines. In any event, President Obama was given another four years to lead the country. And since this is his final term in office he will push ahead with policies to leave the greatest legacy possible. Already, some people are talking about the next election speculating that Hillary Clinton of the Democratic Party will run for president. Checking Understanding 1. If you could have voted for the president of the United States, whom would you have voted for? Why? 2. Which of the two dominant political parties in the United States do you think most reflects Canadian values? Explain your answer. 3. How would you compare the leadership qualities of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper with those of U.S. President Barack Obama? News in Review CBC Learning newsinreview.cbclearning.ca 13

3 VIDEO REVIEW Pre viewing Activity Work with a partner to complete the following organizer. The organizer is designed to help you understand some of the differences between the American and Canadian political and electoral systems. Leader of the country (Name of position) Leader of the country (Name of person) Main political parties Canada United States Political party that is the most socially conservative How is the leader of the country elected? The name of the lower house of government The name of the upper house of government How health care is managed Viewing Questions 1. Rick Santorum was a candidate for the Republican nomination in the 2012 U.S. election race. Identify some of his beliefs. 2. What happened when Santorum withdrew from the nomination race? News in Review CBC Learning newsinreview.cbclearning.ca 14

4 3. a) What is President Obama s position on same-sex marriage? b) What is Mitt Romney s position on same-sex marriage? 4. President Obama has always had a great deal of support amongst the Hollywood community and famous stars. What happened when Mitt Romney tried to use the star power of Clint Eastwood in his campaign? 5. How did the Republican Party handle the Clint-astrophe? 6. Which of the two candidates was considered to have won the first televised presidential debate? And why? 7. Who is considered to have won the next two debates? 8. In what ways did Hurricane Sandy help President Obama during the campaign? (2) 9. President Obama was re-elected on November 6. What are some of the major impacts that will have on the United States in the following areas? a) Taxes b) Health care c) The economy News in Review CBC Learning newsinreview.cbclearning.ca 15

5 Post viewing Activities With a partner, or in a small group, reflect on the video material and discuss the following questions. 1. American presidential campaigns last for many months and cost billions of dollars. Canadian election campaigns are not inexpensive, but they are not as expensive or as lengthy. Do you think there should be limits placed on campaign spending and extravagance? If so, why and what? Further Research Visit the Elections Canada website at home.aspx to learn more about the Canadian electoral system. 2. What influence do televised presidential debates have in the United States? How does that compare to televised leadership debates here in Canada? 3. Do you think Americans are more involved in the political process and elections in the United States than we are here in Canada? Explain your answer. 4. a) What is one lesson you d like Canadian politicians to learn from the American style of politics? b) What is one lesson you d like American politicians to learn from the Canadian style of politics? News in Review CBC Learning newsinreview.cbclearning.ca 16

6 ACTIVITY: Weighing In Elections in countries like Canada and the United States are really a fight for public opinion as much as they are about anything else. Political parties hire public relations firms to learn how to sell their positions to the public. Political candidates get public speaking training and image makeovers, which includes tips for how to style their hair and what glasses and clothing they should wear. And political parties spend an inordinate amount of money on media campaigns to convince voters that their candidate is the right one, and all other opponents will be a bad choice. But when we have a chance to clear away all the media hype and political spin, there are always a number of very important issues that need to be addressed and discussed during an election campaign. Your Task Below and on the following page you ll find a number of quotes. Read each quote, and write a response to each in your notebook. 1. Comment on the extent to which you agree or disagree with each quote. Make sure you explain your position on each quote. 2. When you are finished evaluating each quote, write a concluding statement that sums up your overall opinion of the 2012 presidential election in the United States. Do you think the right person won? America s changing. I m calling it Obamerica. It s a different place. It s much more multicultural, much more diverse, a much more open, tolerant place. It s also a place that doesn t quite know where its soul is at. Gil Troy, history professor at McGill University (CBC News, November 7, 2012) It s been dreadful in many ways the worse campaign I ve ever lived through. We saw two honourable men absolutely pollute themselves in desperation to be president or remain president. Two serious, intelligent, previously honourable men who told untruths, changed their positions, refused to talk about many of the most serious issues we face... Stephen Hess, presidential scholar, The Brookings Institution (Toronto Star, November 3, 2012). It is not easy to feel sorry for Mitt Romney he looks too comfortably well off, his skin too shiny and tanned, his hair too expensively cut, his jeans too well pressed. He estimates his personal wealth at somewhere between $210m and $250m. When you don t know how rich you are to the nearest $40m, it must be hard to relate to people who know exactly how little there is in their pay packets. Nicholas Wapshott, New Statesman, June 11, 2012 News in Review CBC Learning newsinreview.cbclearning.ca 17

7 Obama s re election to another four year term should guarantee the future of his signature legislative achievement, a health care overhaul. Internationally, it means the United States is likely to continue a foreign policy emphasizing multinational partnerships in dealing with issues such as Syria's civil war and Iran s nuclear program. Obama s victory could also come as a relief to China since Romney had pledged to declare it a currency manipulator, potentially leading to sanctions and escalating trade tensions. Editorial, Toronto Star, November 7, 2012 It doesn t matter whether you re black, or white, or Hispanic, or Asian, or native American, or young, or old, or rich, or poor, abled, disabled, gay, or straight, you can make it here in America if you re willing to try. President Obama, acceptance speech, November 6, 2012 Former Republican presidential challenger Mitt Romney says President Barack Obama won re election last week because of the gifts Obama had provided to blacks, Hispanics and young voters and because of his effort to paint Romney as antiimmigrants. CTV News online, November 15, 2012 Obama has the chance to shape and leave a legacy not just for himself, but also for his party, through the election s connection with new constituencies that seem to be forming. Polls have indicated a large majority of the Latino community favours immigration reform that would give some path toward permanent residency to the more than 12 million undocumented immigrants who already live and work in the United States. Andrew Davidson, CBC News, November 7, 2012 News in Review CBC Learning newsinreview.cbclearning.ca 18