Obama has won a second time after defeating Mitt Romney in the 2012 election, but how much did he really win by?

As of right now, the score stands at 303 electoral college votes for Obama, vs 206 for Romney, with only Florida and its 27 votes yet to be decided. The final score will therefore be Either 330 : 206, or 303 : 233. The real significance was that Obama was able to reach the needed tally of 270 without Florida's votes being needed, for once the nation won't be looking at Florida to decide their President.

Is this really a large victory for Obama though? I spoke to a colleague earlier who said "I wanted Obama to win, and he has, but he is not going to be able to do a lot with this Congress". He is not wrong. The Democrats may have narrowly won in the Senate, but the Republicans have a large majority in the House of Representatives. Traditionally it is difficult for a President to get his way without the support of the House.

There are many people who think that it wouldn't have made much difference whether Obama or Romney had emerged the winner, because neither would be able to fix the countries issues overnight, but some might argue that Romney would have had the support of the House, and therefore would have been able to achieve a lot more.

Back to the actual election though. It was looking more and more likely that Obama would win when he secured key swing states such as New Hampshire, with Romney needing to win Ohio, Nevada, and Florida to hold any real hope of success, so when the results came in that Obama had won Ohio, bringing his tally up to 250 votes, it was all but over for Romney. The next result in put Obama on to 275 votes, sparking huge celebrations in Chicago.

What Does A Second Term Mean?

Obama said in his victory speech that he had "Never been more hopeful" about the future. Many people will feel that this was a far less optimistic speech than his previous 2008 speech, despite the wording used, but this is equally a more cynical time. While Obama supporters will share his hopes, Romney supporters will endure a nervous few months, or few years, depending on how well Obama earns his second term. Many people have accepted the reality that they will need to start looking after their own fortunes more, and working towards means of securing their finances without relying on the government.

This is not bad advice, because the more people can take responsibility for themselves, the less an Election result will matter to them, at least from a financial viewpoint. For now, it is time to plan for another term under Obama, and look forward to the new year, if that is possible.