Next leader to be tested early
Source: Agencies |
November 6, 2012, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
THE next president will be under fire to get millions of people back to work, shrink a soaring federal debt, end America's longest war, unite a divided country and prevent Iran from building a bomb that could unnerve the world.
And that's just what comes after the inauguration.
The work that begins right after today's election could determine whether the White House and Congress can keep the country from plunging back into recession in the new year. That's because without action by the nation's leaders, a battery of tax increases and spending cuts will start in January, making life harder for families and endangering the recovery.
Win or lose, President Barack Obama will be in charge until January 20, which means dealing with this "fiscal cliff" is his problem. But Republican Mitt Romney wants to have a significant stamp on the matter as president-elect if he wins.
The economy, stable but struggling, will drive the agenda in the next term. It touches all the core issues that the election has been about - middle-class security, job creation, home values, taxes, basic opportunity for a better life.
The next president will not be dealing with the combined chaos of a financial sector, an employment picture and a stock market in free-fall, all of which started to consume Obama even before he was sworn in on January 20, 2009.
Yet the public will expect results soon. More than 23 million people are unemployed, working part time when they want full-time jobs or out of patience looking for work. Obama and Romney have both promised a more robust rebound, but they're deeply divided over the best ways to get there.
The new president probably will get to nominate at least one Supreme Court justice, if not up to three, as Vice President Joe Biden has suggested. Even one such lifetime appointment could tip the ideological balance of the high court.
And the world will not wait, either. Iran's years-long standoff with the West over its nuclear program is intensifying. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned that allies have until summer to stop Iran.
And that's just what comes after the inauguration.
The work that begins right after today's election could determine whether the White House and Congress can keep the country from plunging back into recession in the new year. That's because without action by the nation's leaders, a battery of tax increases and spending cuts will start in January, making life harder for families and endangering the recovery.
Win or lose, President Barack Obama will be in charge until January 20, which means dealing with this "fiscal cliff" is his problem. But Republican Mitt Romney wants to have a significant stamp on the matter as president-elect if he wins.
The economy, stable but struggling, will drive the agenda in the next term. It touches all the core issues that the election has been about - middle-class security, job creation, home values, taxes, basic opportunity for a better life.
The next president will not be dealing with the combined chaos of a financial sector, an employment picture and a stock market in free-fall, all of which started to consume Obama even before he was sworn in on January 20, 2009.
Yet the public will expect results soon. More than 23 million people are unemployed, working part time when they want full-time jobs or out of patience looking for work. Obama and Romney have both promised a more robust rebound, but they're deeply divided over the best ways to get there.
The new president probably will get to nominate at least one Supreme Court justice, if not up to three, as Vice President Joe Biden has suggested. Even one such lifetime appointment could tip the ideological balance of the high court.
And the world will not wait, either. Iran's years-long standoff with the West over its nuclear program is intensifying. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned that allies have until summer to stop Iran.
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