07 | November | 2012

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

U.S. President Barack Obama, who won a second term in office by defeating Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, waves as he addresses supporters during his election night victory rally in Chicago, November 7, 2012. REUTERS/Jim Bourg

Ask the scholars: What’s your reaction to the election results? (Updated)

Brittany French | November 7, 2012, 5:00 pm

In the wake of President Obama’s reelection, I asked several AEI scholars how they accounted for the decisive Democratic victory last night. The reaction to the results here at AEI unanimously suggest that, while the Democrats ran a hard game, … read more >

Image Credit: Firedoglake.com (Flickr) (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Society and Culture, Education

Despite wins in last night’s elections, teachers unions are weakening

KC Deane | November 7, 2012, 3:57 pm

Union victories and defeats last night showcase the fact that unions are fighting battles on multiple fronts. read more >

Carpe Diem

US homeownership rate falls to a 17-year low of 65.3% in Q3 as ‘homeownership bubble’ continues to deflate

Mark J. Perry | November 7, 2012, 3:31 pm

The homeownership rate in the U.S. fell in the third quarter of 2012 to 65.3% (seasonally adjusted rate, see chart above), according to data released recently by the Census Bureau. Compared to the all-time high homeownership rate of 69.2% in … read more >

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Politics and Public Opinion, Elections

The people have spoken … and they must be punished

Marc Thiessen | November 7, 2012, 3:19 pm

After he was defeated for re-election in 1989, New York Mayor Ed Koch was asked if he would ever run for office again. “No,” Koch replied. “The people have spoken … and they must be punished.” Well, it’s November 2012, … read more >

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Image credit: Warrenski (Flickr) (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Politics and Public Opinion, Elections

Long voting lines are undemocratic and depress turnout

Emma Bennett | November 7, 2012, 3:16 pm

If people are concerned about voter suppression, then they may not want to focus solely on voter identification laws, but turn their attention to unprepared localities like mine without sufficient numbers of booths or polling places. read more >

Economics

Thomas McCraw, RIP

Nick Schulz | November 7, 2012, 3:03 pm

The great historian of economic thought Thomas McCraw passed away. read more >

Image Credit: Rob Boudon (Flickr) (CC BY 2.0)

Politics and Public Opinion, Polls

Exit poll results from A-Z

Henrik Temp | November 7, 2012, 2:43 pm

AEI’s polling expert Karlyn Bowman has brought together the most interesting exit poll results from last night. read more >

Society and Culture

Clinging to their guns, alright!

Nick Schulz | November 7, 2012, 12:16 pm

So there’s a big sell-off on Wall Street after Obama’s re-election. At the same time, Smith and Wesson is up over 8% (after being up over 2% yesterday). Make of that what you will.

The Obamas and Bidens celebrate reelection in Chicago last night. Image Credit: Reuters

Economics, Energy and the Environment

Obama’s victory speech: Reading the tea leaves on energy policy

Kenneth P. Green | November 7, 2012, 11:04 am

While we can’t know what will happen over the next four years, there are a few (very few) clues in President Obama’s victory speech that suggest a continuation of the energy policies we’ve seen in his first term. read more >

The 2012 Electoral map results as of Wednesday morning. Florida is still too close to call. Map created on Real Clear Politics

Politics and Public Opinion, Elections

4 lessons from last night

Henrik Temp | November 7, 2012, 10:17 am

President Obama has been reelected to the presidency for another four years. In Congress, Republicans held their House majority—with a couple races still to be decided, the Democrats look set to make only small gains. In the Senate, the Democrats … read more >

Hindsight Isn’t 20/20
Many lessons should be drawn from the U.S. experience in Iraq. Unfortunately, we’re not learning what we should. […]
The Uses of Scandal
One of the greatest uses of scandal is to vividly demonstrate what new laws are needed and to create the political conditions to get them enacted. […]
Lean In… to Government?
Sheryl Sandberg's runaway best-selling book Lean In has managed to offend both the Left and the Right. Sandberg touts female hard-headedness, yet also calls for an elaborate government- and employer-supplied support system for women. […]
Are American Voters Racist?
Racial prejudice plays a very small role in American politics, but a highly disciplined sense of self-interest on the part of one group may play a very large role in the way the federal government functions. […]