The 57th U.S. Presidential election will take place on November 6. Incumbent President, Democrat Barack Obama will be pitted against the leading candidate, former Massachusetts Governor, Republican Mitt Romney in the race for the White House.
The electoral college of the U.S. will be chosen in this poll. The chosen Presidential electors will then elect the President and the Vice President of the U.S. on December 17.
Contrary to common belief, the President of the U.S. is not chosen on the basis of popular vote, but on the number of states they win.
In the final episode of the televised Presidential debates, there wasn’t much of a difference in the positions taken by the two candidates on foreign policy. Both wanted the U.S. to lead, i.e. to shape events, especially in the Arab world.
In this regard, Obama’s middle road foreign policy is understood and world leaders like that stability. Romney’s runs on campaign foreign policy. If elected, his real foreign policy won’t be known until he takes over next January.
The focus of the American voters is the ability of the slowly recovering U.S. economy to get people employed. Concurrently, domestic issues like jobs and the housing market were front-and-centre during the third round of the U.S. presidential debates. However, surprisingly, terrorism and the direction of American foreign policy have become a much larger factor in the U.S. Presidential debates.
Though the positions taken bears limited resemblance to what will happen in the real, post-election world, the outcome of the elections is bound to affect the world in big and small ways.
The other candidates who are running for the position are Green Party Nominee Jill Stein, Justice Party nominee Rocky Anderson, Constitution Party nominee Virgil Goode, and former New Mexico Governor and the Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson. Although the aforementioned candidates possess the mathematical eligibility to win the election, they are not seen by the media as potential winners.
Gateway House published a series of analyses in the days leading up to the elections. You can read them here:
1. U.S. Presidential debates: Posture vs. reality
2. Obama vs. Romney: The hawks debate