If we rise above party politics for a few minutes, and we should, we would feel a real sense of pride about Tuesday's election -- particularly what it says about America and Americans. This is based on four observations; and it takes into account the regrettable fact that hundreds of millions of dollars were wasted on negative and often misleading advertising in an overly-bitter and ridiculously-expensive campaign. On Tuesday, America and Americans sent a clear signal that they understand the importance of supporting each other during times of continued economic stress and "unusual uncertainty." We now need our elected representatives to put the interests of the country ahead of the legacy of backward-looking and outdated partisan commitments. And we need them to do so quickly, starting with an orderly resolution of the fiscal cliff.
Sure, the numerical line-up didn't change much: a Democratic president, a narrowly Democratic Senate and a Republican-led House. But under the circumstances, the results made an extraordinary statement about commitment to change.
Congratulations everyone!! This country has truly changed, and I believe there will be no going back. Hate lost yesterday. That is amazing in and of itself. And all the women who were elected last night! A total rebuke of Neanderthal attitudes.
Last night voters confirmed the status quo of the 2010 election which brought a strong, united Republican majority in the House and enough Republican senators to filibuster any particular piece of legislation and a weakened, but re-elected president.
Forget must-see TV: The pundits who people paid attention to were a personal mix of Facebook friends, twitterers, bloggers and vloggers, with experts like Wolf Blitzer just one voice in the din. We were each listening to more voices, but fewer of the same voices.
On November 6th Barack Obama defeated Mitt Romney with 50.3 percent of the popular vote and a surprising 303 electoral votes. Here are the top ten reasons Romney tanked.
They've come out of the shadows to fight for their families and themselves. And now, the ones who can have shown that they will vote -- and that makes me explosively optimistic about our shared future.
Politicians talked to women, about women and at women when they wanted our vote. Now they have to talk with women if they want to keep our support. Â
The massacres in Syria are joined by a new and dangerous battlefield in the Lebanon. The reluctance of the West to act against the Assad regime and at the very least to close the airspace for Syrian fighter jets, makes the situation difficult for decent opposition powers.
Barack Obama's victory gives him the attention of the nation and the authority that comes with having won reelection. It therefore gives him the opportunity to recast the economic debate. The upcoming fiscal cliff makes it particularly urgent he do so quickly.
The big loser last night was the spiritual abuse of power that seeks to diminish the rights and dignity of others. The new religious America does not seek to shame or denigrate, but rather embraces the power of religion to lift all people up and mobilize people for the common good.
From every corner of this nation, a majority sent a resounding message that we will not tolerate a rollback of our liberties, nor will we sit by idly as the rights so many fought and died for were under attack.
Why did the conservative media get it so wrong? Because I am a conservative who was confident that Obama would win a tight race, I think that I may be in unique position to explain why this happened.
No longer will politicians -- or anyone -- be able to credibly claim to be supportive of gays, and to love and honor their supposed gay friends and family, while still being opposed to basic and fundamental rights like marriage.
Tonight represents a gigantic leap forward for our nation back to traditional values. Principles that once made this nation great: Marriage is between one man and one woman; poor people should die of curable diseases; prohibition.
Lo and behold, the faith-based Mitt Romney surge in swing states oft prophesied in the Fox News Channel echo chamber simply wasn't materializing. But reality still eluded one of the biggest names on Fox. You may have heard about Karl Rove's antics last night.
Allegiance to the GOP has become less about ideas than a way of responding negatively to anything that smacks of vision or achievement by government.
As a result of his reelection, Barack Obama is now in an unassailable position to prevent the outbreak of any conflict with Tehran and, as a leader averse to further wars (as in Afghanistan and Iraq), he will not seek one. Here are the reasons why.
Presidents cannot win without policies to include and empower all Americans, not just the slices of communities needed for electoral success. President Obama and Democrats won a mandate to move us forward with jobs, healthcare reform, equality, and nation building here at home.
America is changing, the middle class and poor need support, and every politician who is not ready for this change should wake today and realize that minorities will wait in line into the early hours of the morning to vote them out of office. Forward, we go.
The loss of a white majority in the U.S. has helped drive a truly explosive growth of the radical right in the last three years. For months now, groups on the radical right have increasingly fretted about a possible Obama victory. Now that that has occurred, they may grow more dangerous still.
This election was a clear and unequivocal victory for the populist positions the president took on the campaign trail. Don't believe the hype: This was a great night for progressives, populists and agents of change.
The easy narrative is that Kirsten Gillibrand is scrappy, tenacious and optimistic. And she is all those things. But that doesn't scratch the surface.
The campaign post-mortems -- and recriminations on the Republican side -- already are underway and some big messages sent on Election Day already are being missed.
Will the opposition to President Obama's signature health care act now fade now that he has gained a second term? Not for a minute.