https://www.scmp.com/rss/266090/feed The United States' 57th quadrennial presidential election took place in November 2012. Incumbent President and Democrat Barack Obama won election and is running for a second term. His major challenger was former Massachusetts Governor, Republican Mitt Romney. From January to June, Americans voted in nationwide state level primaries and caucuses, which serveed the purpose of selecting party representatives of states to be sent for the party convention. The key issues in this race for the White... en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com An appeal court suspended Rudy Giuliani from practising law in New York because he made false statements while trying to get courts to overturn Donald Trump’s loss in the presidential race. An attorney disciplinary committee said in its motion to suspend Giuliani’s licence that there was “uncontroverted evidence” that Giuliani had made false statements to the courts, the public and lawmakers as he pushed theories that the election was stolen through fraud. “This country is being torn apart by... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3138660/rudy-giulianis-law-licence-suspended-over-false?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3138660/rudy-giulianis-law-licence-suspended-over-false?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 24 Jun 2021 16:27:05 +0000 United States President-elect Joe Biden’s policy towards Taiwan has not been articulated. But even without details, there can be certainty that it will not be as incendiary as the approach of outgoing leader Donald Trump’s administration. With days remaining in his term, stepped-up efforts are being made to lock in a tough policy towards China, the latest efforts being a phone call between US ambassador to the United Nations, Kelly Craft, and Taiwanese leader Tsai Ing-wen, after Secretary of... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3117809/new-us-leader-must-rethink-taiwan-policy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3117809/new-us-leader-must-rethink-taiwan-policy?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 14 Jan 2021 16:13:14 +0000 The election of the next US vice-president Kamala Harris, an American of Indian and Jamaican descent, has been described as “significant” and “awe-inspiring” by prominent female Indian politicians. But even as they celebrate Harris’ success, her victory has put the spotlight on India’s struggle for gender equality, especially in the political arena. Actress-politician Urmila Matondkar said women leaders should feel inspired by Harris’ tenacity and “self-trust”, adding that the election result... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3109100/us-election-2020-india-kamala-harris-win-sparks-joy-puts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3109100/us-election-2020-india-kamala-harris-win-sparks-joy-puts?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Nov 2020 12:00:26 +0000 It took just one month for the labour market in the world’s largest economy to capsize. It will take longer for the damage to be fully realised. In the harshest downturn for American workers in history, employers cut an unprecedented 20.5 million jobs in April, tripling the unemployment rate to 14.7 per cent, the highest since the Great Depression era of the 1930s. And it’s only set to worsen in May, as cuts spread further into white-collar work. “It’s devastating,” said Ryan Sweet, head of... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3083615/more-pain-come-harshest-us-downturn-history-sees?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3083615/more-pain-come-harshest-us-downturn-history-sees?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 08 May 2020 19:32:24 +0000 A Very Stable Genius: Donald J. Trump’s Testing of America, one of the latest insider-based accounts of the Trump White House, debuted at the top of The New York Times’ non-fiction bestseller list on its release this month. Written by Philip Rucker and Carol Leonnig, respectively the White House bureau chief and a national investigative reporter for The Washington Post, the book is based on interviews with more than 200 well-placed sources within the administration and in Trump’s inner... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3050931/trumps-ignorance-rage-and-white-house-dysfunction-authors?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3050931/trumps-ignorance-rage-and-white-house-dysfunction-authors?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 17 Feb 2020 18:30:09 +0000 The US Justice Department announced on Friday it had charged former Fugees rapper Prakazrel “Pras” Michel and wealthy Malaysian businessman Low Taek Jho, popularly known as “Jho Low”, with conspiring to steer illegal foreign campaign funds into the 2012 presidential election. According to the unsealed indictment, between June 2012 and November 2012, Low directed the transfer of about US$21.6 million from foreign entities and accounts to Michel to be funnelled into the US election while... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3009813/us-charges-malaysian-tycoon-jho-low-and-ex-fugees-rapper?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3009813/us-charges-malaysian-tycoon-jho-low-and-ex-fugees-rapper?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 May 2019 22:11:01 +0000 In his first interview since losing his 2012 White House bid, Mitt Romney likened his experience as a presidential candidate to an unpredictable and bumpy roller-coaster ride. "We were on a roller coaster, exciting and thrilling, ups and downs. But the ride ends," Romney said, according to advance excerpts of the interview set to air on Fox News Sunday. "And then you get off. And it's not like, 'Oh, can't we be on a roller coaster the rest of our life?' It's like, no, the ride's over." Romney... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1173801/romney-recalls-ups-and-downs-his-first-post-defeat-interview?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1173801/romney-recalls-ups-and-downs-his-first-post-defeat-interview?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 03 Mar 2013 16:00:00 +0000 The US Republican Party needs to stop insulting voters and broaden its appeal, say some of its leading figures following the re-election of Democratic President Barack Obama thanks to overwhelming support from Hispanics, blacks and single women. Comments made by two top Republican governors and an influential US senator on Sunday reflected the soul-searching taking place in the party after Obama's victory over Republican Mitt Romney on November 6. "If we want people to like us, we have to like... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1086244/stop-insulting-voters-senior-republicans-urge-party?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1086244/stop-insulting-voters-senior-republicans-urge-party?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 19 Nov 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Four years ago, I wrote an article titled New Year in November about Barack Obama’s historic victory. That’s what it felt like – a new beginning, a rebirth – even to a blogger half the world away. Four years flew by in the blink of an eye and the president was up for re-election this month. This time I wanted to be there – in America, in the thick of things. I planned my annual home leave in the second week of November and arrived in New York just days after Hurricane Sandy ravaged the East... https://www.scmp.com/comment/blogs/article/1086038/new-year-november-reprise?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/blogs/article/1086038/new-year-november-reprise?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 19 Nov 2012 05:07:04 +0000 Demoralised Republicans had one piece of good news as results poured in confirming a second term in office for US President Barack Obama. They said before the election that a win for Obama would be bad for the stock market and, indeed, share prices tumbled, sending the S&P 500 index below the 13,000 mark. The market then perked up, but has slumped again. In other words, the market has been performing true to form, according to research from the Bespoke Investment Group showing that, on average,... https://www.scmp.com/business/money/money-news/article/1084019/week-explained-polls-and-share-prices?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/money/money-news/article/1084019/week-explained-polls-and-share-prices?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 18 Nov 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Xi Jinping has been anointed China's most powerful man, as head of the Communist Party and the military, but Hu Jintao is still the country's president until March. So who is calling the shots until then? Zhou Xiaochuan lost his party post this week and looks set to retire as governor of the People's Bank of China, leaving fellow central bank governors unsure whether to talk to him or wait to find out who his successor is, and investors wondering if policy will change. The same goes for... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1084376/wait-handover-state-positions-sows-doubt?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1084376/wait-handover-state-positions-sows-doubt?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 16 Nov 2012 16:00:00 +0000 I recently read a shocking quote from a top member of Mitt Romney's team in the US presidential election: "We're not going to let our campaign be dictated by fact checkers." He admitted that his team would aim to mislead voters; after all, the rival Barack Obama camp had done the same. Commentators noted during the 2012 race that false claims in negative TV adverts were less likely to be corrected or withdrawn than before. Campaigns can now get away with falsehoods. The polarisation of the US... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1083185/cy-leung-should-see-hope-citys-under-represented-moderates?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1083185/cy-leung-should-see-hope-citys-under-represented-moderates?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 15 Nov 2012 16:00:00 +0000 After his stunning re-election victory, US President Barack Obama's first phone call went to the one man who, by dint of passion and eloquence, did more than anyone else to pull him over the top - Bill Clinton. The charismatic former president wasn't on stage with Obama early on Wednesday in Chicago, and wasn't even mentioned in the president's victory speech. But Obama owed Clinton big for a bravura performance on the campaign trail, using his lip-biting charm and mastery of policy to persuade... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1079484/big-dog-bill-clinton-proves-he-still-has-plenty-bite?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1079484/big-dog-bill-clinton-proves-he-still-has-plenty-bite?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 10 Nov 2012 16:00:00 +0000 It is, after all, the United States of America. And as far as the states part goes, be they electoral colleges or educational colleges, America is very much state driven. But united? Not this week and very likely not any week in the near future. The US presidential election laid bare a particularly fractious country and the world of sports was hardly exempt. Thanks to the explosion of social media, a number of sporting figures weighed in with instant analysis on Barack Obama's victory. Surely... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/1079521/right-field-when-politics-and-sports-clash?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/1079521/right-field-when-politics-and-sports-clash?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 10 Nov 2012 16:00:00 +0000 1. China Daily The most expensive presidential election in US history has left a social and political divide in the country. If the wounds of political polarisation cannot be mitigated, Obama will not be able to deliver on the promises he made during the presidential campaign. He will have to redouble his efforts if he is to fix the country's ailing economy, create more jobs and bring government spending down. As the leader of the world's sole superpower, Obama is facing formidable challenges on... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1079619/how-they-see-it-us-president-barack-obamas-re-election?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1079619/how-they-see-it-us-president-barack-obamas-re-election?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 10 Nov 2012 16:00:00 +0000 At the private air terminal at Logan Airport in Boston early on Wednesday, men in unwrinkled suits sank into plush leather chairs as they waited to board Gulfstream jets, trading consolations over Mitt Romney's loss. "All I can say is the American people have spoken," said Kenneth Langone, the founder of the Home Depot and one of Romney's top fundraisers, briskly plucking off his hat and settling into a couch. The biggest single donor in political history, casino billionaire Sheldon Adelson,... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1078953/mitt-romneys-money-men-lick-their-wounds-wake-election?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1078953/mitt-romneys-money-men-lick-their-wounds-wake-election?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 09 Nov 2012 16:00:00 +0000 They predict he will write a book, convinced that the daily diary he kept on the campaign trail would make for a compelling read. They speculate that he will return to the corridors of finance, where his reputation as a savvy chief executive and investor remains unblemished. They suspect he could take on a major role in the Mormon Church, picking up where he left off two decades ago. In conversations over the past 24 hours, friends, aides and advisers to Mitt Romney have begun turning their... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1078952/white-house-aside-world-mitt-romneys-oyster?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1078952/white-house-aside-world-mitt-romneys-oyster?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 09 Nov 2012 16:00:00 +0000 My wife thinks George Clooney has universal appeal. But according to the data-mining quants who helped propel Barack Obama back into the White House, the liberal film star and Obama supporter is most attractive to women aged between 40 and 49 on the west coast of the United States. This is the level of specificity that US pollsters and campaign managers now muster to give their candidates a decisive edge. The presidential election may have been the most mathematical and data-driven in history.... https://www.scmp.com/comment/article/1078927/algorithm-life-powerful-thing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/article/1078927/algorithm-life-powerful-thing?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 09 Nov 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Florida's Democratic Party has finally declared victory for US President Barack Obama in the closely divided battleground state, as he clung to a narrow but apparently insurmountable lead in the glacially slow count of votes from Tuesday's election. If Obama wins Florida officially, it will add to his Electoral College margin and he will have won all key US swing states except North Carolina, which he carried in 2008. "On behalf of Florida Democrats, I wish President Barack Obama congratulations... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1078950/florida-democrats-declare-barack-obama-has-won-state?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1078950/florida-democrats-declare-barack-obama-has-won-state?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 09 Nov 2012 16:00:00 +0000 US President Barack Obama's victory over Mitt Romney is a landmark moment in US politics. He is only the second Democratic president to win re-election since Franklin Roosevelt in 1936, doing so despite sluggish economic growth and comparatively high unemployment. Yet prospects for Obama securing major new domestic policy success are not high. His narrower margin of victory than in 2008 gives him a weaker electoral mandate. Moreover, Republicans have maintained their firm grip on the House of... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1078814/obamas-agenda-abroad?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1078814/obamas-agenda-abroad?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 09 Nov 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Defying predictions their participation would be lacklustre, Latinos turned out in record numbers on Tuesday and voted for US President Barack Obama by broad margins, tipping the balance in at least three swing states and securing their position as an organised force with the power to move national elections. Overall, according to exit polls not yet finalised by Edison Research, Obama won 71 per cent of the Hispanic vote while Mitt Romney won 27 per cent. The gap of 44 percentage points was even... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1078009/record-turnout-reveals-power-latino-bloc-us-politics?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1078009/record-turnout-reveals-power-latino-bloc-us-politics?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 08 Nov 2012 16:00:00 +0000 It was 11.13pm on Tuesday, the moment that Fox News called Ohio for US President Barack Obama. Karl Rove stood just off camera, his phone glued to his ear. On the other end was a senior official of Mitt Romney's campaign, insisting that the network had got it wrong. What followed - an extraordinary on-air confrontation between Rove, a Fox commentator, and the network's team of voting analysts - drew renewed focus on the Republican operative's complicated and conflicting roles in the presidential... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1077969/karl-roves-spat-fox-news-puts-republicans-conflicting-roles-focus?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1077969/karl-roves-spat-fox-news-puts-republicans-conflicting-roles-focus?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 08 Nov 2012 16:00:00 +0000 The bailout of General Motors played an important role in the re-election of President Barack Obama, but now comes the hard part, which is unloading the government's stake, probably at a big loss. GM received US$51 billion from the US Treasury in 2009. Taxpayers have recouped US$24 billion and still own 32 per cent of the company. The problem is that GM shares are trading at less than half the price the government said it needed to break even. Selling the shares was politically precarious before... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/1078199/care-needed-general-motors-stake-sale?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/1078199/care-needed-general-motors-stake-sale?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 08 Nov 2012 16:00:00 +0000 There is a kind of war under way in the US nowadays between fact and fantasy. President Barack Obama's re-election marked a victory, limited but unmistakable, for the cause of fact. Events in the days leading up to the election provided a stark illustration of the struggle. Among senior aides to Republican challenger Mitt Romney, a belief developed that he was on the cusp of victory. Their conviction had no basis in poll results. Nevertheless, the feeling grew so strong that aides began to... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1077964/reality-sweeps-away-republican-fantasies?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1077964/reality-sweeps-away-republican-fantasies?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 08 Nov 2012 16:00:00 +0000 US House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner, striking a conciliatory tone a day after the Republican Party's electoral drubbing, said that he was ready to accept a budget deal that raises federal revenue under the right conditions, to avert the so-called "fiscal cliff" in 52 days. His offer was conditional on an overhaul of entitlements and a tax code reform that closes loopholes, curtails deductions, and lowers income tax rates. Boehner's gesture was the most explicit offer he has made to... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1078138/both-sides-appear-more-conciliatory-fiscal-cliff-deadline-looms?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1078138/both-sides-appear-more-conciliatory-fiscal-cliff-deadline-looms?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 08 Nov 2012 16:00:00 +0000 If every word written and uttered since the US presidential election about the dire need for bipartisanship in American politics was worth a dollar, the total would go some way towards avoiding the so-called fiscal cliff and the threat of another economic crisis that is now spooking financial markets. But since they are not, we will have to hope for a bipartisan spirit in negotiations to break the deadlock between the White House and Congress if the US economy is not to tip into a recession that... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1078174/obama-congress-must-cooperate-avoid-fiscal-cliff?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1078174/obama-congress-must-cooperate-avoid-fiscal-cliff?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 08 Nov 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Hong Kong stocks posted their biggest decline in more than three months yesterday, tracking a slump in global markets on concerns over possible political deadlock in Washington and the China leadership change. The benchmark Hang Seng Index lost 532.94 points, or 2.41per cent, to finish at 21,566.91, below its 20-day moving average. Turnover of HK$72.66 billion was the most since September 14. "The current unknowns in both the US and China provide a very good excuse for investors to lock in... https://www.scmp.com/business/money/markets-investing/article/1078106/fear-unknown-sparks-sell-asian-markets?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/money/markets-investing/article/1078106/fear-unknown-sparks-sell-asian-markets?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 08 Nov 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Tuesday's election result was not just a victory for President Barack Obama, but a validation for the new breed of so-called "big data" number crunchers. They include New York Times blogger Nate Silver, whose uncanny accuracy in predicting the result has turned him into something of a mathematical rock star. Silver used his FiveThirty Eight blog to chart the likelihood of victory for Obama or Mitt Romney. His algorithms consistently and clearly pointed to an Obama win - in defiance of... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1077970/statisticians-nate-silver-and-sam-wang-run-circles-around-pundits?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1077970/statisticians-nate-silver-and-sam-wang-run-circles-around-pundits?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 08 Nov 2012 16:00:00 +0000 President 'a wolf in sheep's clothing' LONDON - Wikileaks founder Julian Assange described President Barack Obama as a "wolf in sheep's clothing" and said he expected the US government to keep attacking the anti-secrecy website. Speaking from Ecuador's London embassy, where he sought asylum in June to avoid extradition to Sweden over sex crime allegations, Assange said Obama's victory was nothing to celebrate. "Obama seems to be a nice man, and that is precisely the problem," the Australian... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1078141/briefs-november-9-2012?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1078141/briefs-november-9-2012?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 08 Nov 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Bill O'Reilly complained about him. Rush Limbaugh called him "fat" and a "fool". Dick Morris argued that he had cost Mitt Romney the presidency. On right-wing radio, Fox News and Twitter feeds, Governor Chris Christie, of New Jersey, has been taking a pounding from high-profile personalities, who said his abundant praise of President Barack Obama's leadership of the recovery after Hurricane Sandy helped snuff out Republican hopes of capturing the White House. "Judas", they called Christie.... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1078007/new-jersey-governor-chris-christie-rises-above-republican-taunts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1078007/new-jersey-governor-chris-christie-rises-above-republican-taunts?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 08 Nov 2012 16:00:00 +0000 US President Barack Obama enjoyed soaring support from Asian Americans to win another term, a post-election survey revealed, as voters elected Congress's first Hindu lawmaker. A poll conducted for community groups found 72 per cent of Asian Americans voted for Obama on Tuesday, a gain from the two-thirds support he won in 2008. It is part of a major shift toward the Democrats by this group over the past 20 years. While small in total, Asian Americans are the fastest growing racial group in the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1078008/americas-rising-asia-vote-sealed-deal-barack-obama?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1078008/americas-rising-asia-vote-sealed-deal-barack-obama?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 08 Nov 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Diane Sawyer's Election Night performance left some US viewers asking if she had begun celebrating a bit early. Co-anchoring ABC News' coverage, the veteran journalist struck a very different manner from her practised, straight style of news delivery. Sawyer spoke more slowly than usual and slurred at times while seeming to prop herself on outstretched arms at the anchor desk she shared with George Stephanopoulos. Was she drunk? "OK," she said at one point around 10 pm. "I wanna - can we have... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1077971/abc-anchor-diane-sawyers-bizarre-election-night-behaviour?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1077971/abc-anchor-diane-sawyers-bizarre-election-night-behaviour?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 08 Nov 2012 16:00:00 +0000 US President Barack Obama will engage China and its neighbours in a fresh diplomatic offensive after securing a historic second term in the White House. Obama will attend the East Asia Summit in Cambodia on November 18, which Premier Wen Jiabao is also expected to join. It could be followed by a trip to Myanmar, in what would be an unprecedented visit for a US president to the former pariah state. Both President Hu Jintao and Wen congratulated Obama after he defeated Republican rival Mitt Romney... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1077525/re-elected-barack-obama-diplomatic-offensive-asia?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1077525/re-elected-barack-obama-diplomatic-offensive-asia?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 07 Nov 2012 18:48:17 +0000 US stock markets dived two per cent Wednesday after President Barack Obama’s re-election victory set up a tough battle with Republicans over the looming “fiscal cliff”. After opening sharply lower, losses on the stock indices accelerated in a tsunami of red ink. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 291.49 points (2.20 per cent) at 12,954.19 at 1600 GMT. The broad-based S&P 500 fell 31.64 (2.22 per cent) to 1,396.75, while the Nasdaq Composite shed 68.17 (2.26 per cent) at 2,943.76. Obama... https://www.scmp.com/business/global-economy/article/1077434/us-stock-losses-hit-2-after-obama-win?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/global-economy/article/1077434/us-stock-losses-hit-2-after-obama-win?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 07 Nov 2012 16:18:08 +0000 The day had started optimistically, as Mitt Romney cast his ballot early, then made one last trip to scour for votes. But it ended with stony silence in the ballroom where his supporters watched state after state that they hoped would break the Republican nominee's way tilt towards President Barack Obama. Nearly two hours after the US television networks called the race for Obama, Romney appeared onstage at a waterfront convention centre in Boston to congratulate his opponent and thank his... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1077250/silence-descends-mitt-romney-camp-results-come?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1077250/silence-descends-mitt-romney-camp-results-come?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 07 Nov 2012 16:00:00 +0000 These are momentous days for China and the US, the world's greatest powers. Today, hours after Barack Obama was elected to a second term as president, the Communist Party begins its 18th congress to produce the nation's next leaders. Elections can be times of uncertainty and for months on both sides of the Pacific there has been concern about a negative shift in relations. There will be changes, to be sure, but no matter who is in charge in Beijing or Washington, there is an all-pervasive... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1077351/election-rhetoric-aside-vital-ties-bind-us-and-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1077351/election-rhetoric-aside-vital-ties-bind-us-and-china?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 07 Nov 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Once the party ends after US President Barack Obama's historic - and bitterly fought - re-election, he faces a sobering stack of issues demanding urgent attention. And among the folders in his in-tray will be ones marked "China" and "Asia". Amid all the rancour of his long campaign against Republican rival Mitt Romney, one of the few areas of loose bipartisan agreement was Washington's approach to the region. Their debates saw a sharpening of the sense that Washington must stand up to Beijing on... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1077355/four-more-years-obama-make-his-mark?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1077355/four-more-years-obama-make-his-mark?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 07 Nov 2012 16:00:00 +0000 The crowd was smaller than it was four years ago, and the venue was indoors. But Barack Obama's victory party early yesterday shared a theme with his 2008 election night - hope. The speed and scale of the win crashed over Obama's diehard supporters like a shockwave, unleashing joy and relief after what had been a tense and often ill-tempered campaign. "Tonight, despite all the hardship we've been through, despite the frustrations of Washington, I've never been more hopeful about our future,"... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1077363/victory-speech-obama-shares-message-hope?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1077363/victory-speech-obama-shares-message-hope?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 07 Nov 2012 16:00:00 +0000 To gauge the depth of the questions facing the Republican Party after its defeat on Tuesday, just consider one fact. It was the fifth time in the past six elections that the Republicans had lost the popular vote. While some looking for scapegoats will point to recent events, particularly the intervention of superstorm Sandy in killing the momentum of Mitt Romney, or even the claim from some in the party he was not a "genuine conservative", far larger issues loom. It is an old US political saying... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1077249/tea-party-influence-leaves-bitter-taste-republicans?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1077249/tea-party-influence-leaves-bitter-taste-republicans?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 07 Nov 2012 16:00:00 +0000 US presidential elections may have little impact on the lives of most mainlanders, but many watched this year's contest as closely as their counterparts across the Pacific. For months, online microblogs and chat rooms have been brimming with talk about the elections. Most have focused less on the China-bashing by the US candidates than on how much the process differs from China's own leadership change. In a quirk of the geopolitical calendar, the Communist Party ruling elite will gather behind... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1077346/us-example-democracy-not-lost-mainland-internet-commentators?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1077346/us-example-democracy-not-lost-mainland-internet-commentators?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 07 Nov 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Twitter users get busy with 20 million posts WASHINGTON - Election day became the most tweeted about event in US political history with internet users firing off 20 million poll-related tweets. Americans flocked to Twitter and other platforms all day, posting photographic proof they had cast their ballots, cheering their favourite candidates and analysing the latest polls. The number far surpassed the 10.3 million tweets sent during the first presidential debate last month - an event the social... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1077362/briefs-us-election-november-8-2012?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1077362/briefs-us-election-november-8-2012?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 07 Nov 2012 16:00:00 +0000 "Ready for your big speech?" Simon Li yelled over the din of the crowd at the American consulate in Hong Kong. His students, from Yew Chung Community College, were taking turns at the podium, raising their arms in imitation of US politicians on the campaign trail. They were among about 160 university and secondary-school students attending the consulate's election-watch party. "I'd be comfortable with any candidate that wins," said Takudzwa Hodzi, a 20-year-old communications student from... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1077345/us-consulates-mock-election-sees-good-turnout?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1077345/us-consulates-mock-election-sees-good-turnout?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 07 Nov 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Singing and dancing, the ancestral village of Barack Obama celebrated on Wednesday the re-election of the son of their soil, who won because he knows how to “love all people”, his grandmother said. Crowds stayed up throughout the night in Kogelo, a small village in western Kenya nestled in the hills about 60 kilometres from the blue waters of Lake Victoria, until the results showed Obama had won. “The reason why he has won is because God has given it to him,” said Sarah Obama, 90 this year and... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1077150/obamas-kenyan-family-celebrate-victory-due-love?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1077150/obamas-kenyan-family-celebrate-victory-due-love?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 07 Nov 2012 10:38:25 +0000 More than 200 Chinese citizens stepped up to a mock ballot box on Wednesday, overwhelmingly “re-electing” US President Barack Obama while reflecting ruefully on the lack of multi-party democracy in China. The world’s two biggest economies are choosing their leaders around the same time, a quirk of timing that highlights the stark contrast between China’s secretive communist system and America’s boisterous democracy. The “voters” were among several hundred Chinese who were invited to join... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1077105/chinese-voters-overwhelmingly-re-elect-obama?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1077105/chinese-voters-overwhelmingly-re-elect-obama?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 07 Nov 2012 09:28:00 +0000 In Afghanistan, where US troops are fighting and dying in America’s longest conflict, the re-election of President Barack Obama was met with a war-weary shrug on Wednesday as foreign forces prepare to withdraw. One of the few things that Obama and Republican candidate Mitt Romney agreed on during their bitter campaign was that US combat troops would pull out by the end of 2014, whatever the state of the conflict against Taliban insurgents. But in general Afghanistan, where the United States has... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1077089/war-weary-afghans-shrug-obama-re-election?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1077089/war-weary-afghans-shrug-obama-re-election?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 07 Nov 2012 09:00:06 +0000 Election day in the United States became the most tweeted about event in US political history on Tuesday with enthusiastic netizens firing off 20 million poll-related tweets, the social network said. Americans flocked to Twitter and other platforms all day in a massive social media burst, posting photographic proof they had cast their ballots, cheering their favourite candidates along and analysing the latest polls. “With 20 million tweets, election day just became the most tweeted about event... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1077020/election-most-tweeted-event-us-political-history?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1077020/election-most-tweeted-event-us-political-history?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 07 Nov 2012 06:50:50 +0000 President Barack Obama told cheering supporters early on Wednesday that “the best is yet to come” for the United States as he stormed to a second term by defeating Republican Mitt Romney. After taking the stage at a raucous Chicago victory party with wife Michelle and daughters Sasha and Malia, Obama returned to the themes of his re-election bid, vowing to fight for the middle class and the American dream. “In this election, you, the American people, reminded us that while our road has been... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1076960/re-elected-obama-takes-stage-victory-speech-live-video?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1076960/re-elected-obama-takes-stage-victory-speech-live-video?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 07 Nov 2012 05:06:52 +0000 Poll results in the key swing states that will decide the US presidential election remained too close to call on Tuesday even as Barack Obama and Mitt Romney racked up victories in their heartlands. At 10:45 pm (1045 HKT), the Democratic incumbent Obama held a narrow lead of 158 electoral college votes to the Republican’s 154, and all eyes were turning to the key battleground of Ohio as the probable tie-breaker. As expected, Obama polled strongly in New England and the industrial northeast,... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1076854/swing-states-too-close-call-early-us-results-live-video?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1076854/swing-states-too-close-call-early-us-results-live-video?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 07 Nov 2012 03:19:26 +0000 In July, a woman in West Virginia asked Republican house leader, John Boehner: "Can you make me love Mitt Romney?" Boehner said: "No. Listen, we're just politicians. I wasn't elected to play God. The American people probably aren't going to fall in love with Mitt Romney." But that didn't stop Romney's handlers trying. They used his wife, Ann, to soften him, invoked his Mormon religion to humanise him and even called on Clint Eastwood to vouch for him, but in the end Boehner was right. The... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1076553/romneys-candidacy-improved-months-went?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1076553/romneys-candidacy-improved-months-went?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 06 Nov 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Impatient New Jersey voters queued up amid rubble and rotting rubbish left by superstorm Sandy as US presidential election officials scrambled to open makeshift polling stations on time. In Hoboken, which lies just across the Hudson River from New York City and got hammered during the hurricane-strength storm last week, one of the makeshift polling stations opened 40 minutes late. About 60 people waited in the sharp morning chill. "You're really late," one voter complained. When the alternative... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1076579/new-jersey-voters-grumble-makeshift-polling-stations?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1076579/new-jersey-voters-grumble-makeshift-polling-stations?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 06 Nov 2012 16:00:00 +0000