Campaign Trail Results: Game #680491
Play The Campaign Trail
This Game:
- Year: 2012
- Player Candidate: Barack Obama
- Running Mate: Joe Biden
- Difficulty Level: Normal
- Winner Take All Mode?: Yes
- Game Played:
- oceaneale
View overall results, or a specific state:
| Candidate | Electoral Votes | Popular Votes | Pop. Vote % |
|---|---|---|---|
| ---- Barack Obama | 332 | 65,227,133 | 50.76 |
| ---- Mitt Romney | 206 | 62,116,141 | 48.34 |
| ---- Gary Johnson | 0 | 855,122 | 0.67 |
| ---- Jill Stein | 0 | 294,734 | 0.23 |
Visits:
- North Carolina:3
- Florida:2
- Ohio:2
- Colorado:1
- Iowa:1
- Pennsylvania:1
- Virginia:1
- Wisconsin:1
Answers:
- Should the government be doing more to stabilize home prices?I think we could be doing more to purchase homes from the banks, and perhaps rent them out until the situation improves. This would help support a price recovery.
- A recent Supreme Court decision affirmed an Arizona law allowing officers to check suspected illegal immigrants for proof of immigration status. Do you think this law is a good idea?The proper authority for enforcement rests with the federal government. This law goes further than federal laws and even if constitutional, should be repealed.
- Should the United States have been so quick to drop its support for Hosni Mubarak in 2011, given recent events in Egypt?That's a great question. It's hard to speculate on what might have been, but it at time it seemed clear that Mubarak had to go.
- What can the U.S. do to assist pro-democracy protestors in Russia?We should be making public appeals to Vladimir Putin, and consider trade sanctions if he does not relax the political environment there.
- Do you support a larger fence or even a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border to prevent illegal immigration?I think that what we have now is sufficient. There's no need to constantly revisit this issue when the Border Patrol has seen documented success in reducing immigration over the past few years.
- What is your position on gay marriage?Gay marriage should be protected at the federal level. The Defense of Marriage Act should be repealed.
- Is the United States too reliant on fossil fuels for its energy needs?The answer is obvious. By continuing to rely on non-renewable energy sources, we place ourselves at greater risk for future energy shocks and we contribute to global warming.
- Do you support allowing the Bush Tax Cuts to expire for high-income households at the end of 2012?Perhaps we can consider letting these expire at some point in the future, but for now we are mired in a stagnant economy and need to avoid tax increases.
- Do you support continued subsidies for the production of ethanol fuel?Ethanol has the potential to radically change our energy equation, and to provide a clean source of renewables. We should continue these subsidies.
- We have now had 10 years to analyze the effects of the No Child Left Behind Act. Do you think it is time for a change?There is a danger of 'teaching to the test'. We do need some testing in place, but to do so on an annual basis is too frequent and interferes with good educational practice.
- Would it help our economy if government employment was increased? Or would this divert valuable resources from the private sector?Government employment should be increased during recessions to mitigate the effects of a drop in private sector output.
- The Affordable Care Act (i.e. 'Obamacare') will cap annual premiums, require minimum coverage levels, and outlaw discrimination against people with pre-existing conditions. What do you think?There should be a public insurance company offering health care to all Americans. Private insurers are simply too greedy and too likely to turn down people with pre-existing health conditions.
- Is it time for the federal government to cut spending, even with the economy growing at less than 2% annually?Absolutely not. If anything, we should be increasing the size of government right now to fight the stagnant economy. Had the size of the initial Stimulus Act in 2009 been sufficient, for instance, we wouldn't be having these problems now.
- Should Angela Merkel be doing more to preserve to Euro as the European Union's common currency?If Merkel fails in this mission, we all will be affected negatively. I have the utmost faith that she realizes this and will act accordingly.
- What is your opinion on the Tea Party movement?A funny thing happened on January 20, 2009 -- millions of people who supported Bush's deficits suddenly flip-flopped into budget hawks. This group is obviously just a political front for the far right wing of the Republican Party.
- Should large banks like Chase, Citibank, and Bank of America be broken up to reduce the risk of another financial crisis?That's not the best solution for us to take. The last thing we need right now in the financial sector is some kind of arbitrary, destabilizing government action.
- The most recent data (for 2010) on Pell Grants indicate that 60% of all college students receive one. In that same year, the program cost $36 billion. What changes, if any, would you recommend to this program?Students are the future of this country and they need all the help they can get to make it through college, especially considering how much tuition has been increased over the past few years.
- Tell us how you feel about the Keystone Pipeline.Now isn't the best time to decide this. Perhaps in 2013 we can make a rational decision that is not influenced by politics.
- After episodes such as the 'flash crash' in 2010, would you support a small financial transactions tax, with the sole purpose being to target high-frequency trading systems?Automated high-frequency trading serves no purpose in our financial system. Such trading houses are parasitic in nature and a financial transactions tax on them is entirely appropriate.
- Many people speculate that the Affordable Health Care Act is the first step on the road to socialized medicine. Can you address these concerns?These fears are absolutely unfounded. The increased transparency and accountability of a private insurance marketplace will actually serve to reduce health care costs.
- Some liberals say that you have done more to help Wall Street banks than hard-working Americans. Are you open to a more universal program of mortgage write-downs if housing prices continue to decline?We might consider purchasing delinquent mortgages and renting the homes out until a price recovery ensues. This will benefit those who are underwater on a mortgage, and will also stabilize home prices for the larger community.
- What will be the overriding theme of your nomination speech at the Democratic Convention?I will give an honest speech about the challenges I was facing in 2009, what I did to address them, what I tried to do that was blocked by Republican obstructionism, and what jobs policies I will continue to push for in my second term.
- Do you think Hillary Clinton would make a good Presidential candidate in 2016?It's way too early to speculate on the 2016 election. We need to keep our attention on the here and now.
- What is your guiding foreign policy philosophy?Pragmatism -- Our foreign policy right now is effective. We need to guide foreign nations towards democracy and open markets. Doing so will increase the world's prosperity and decrease the chance of future wars.
- In the most general terms, what will be your overall campaign strategy against Romney?Behind the scenes my surrogates have plenty of dirt to spread about Romney and the Republicans. As President, I will stick to a message of optimism and hope in my own campaign speeches.