Obama faces tough road ahead, professors say

Last Tuesday, President Barack Obama was re-elected president for a second term. Democrats cheered as their party retained control of the White House once again, but many are curious to see what these next four years will mean for the country.

Political activist group leaders and Pitt political scientists expressed high hopes for Obama’s next four years in office because of the work that needs to be done, an idea that Obama incorporated into his victory speech.

As Obama made his acceptance speech in Chicago during the late evening hours of Nov. 6, he energized a large crowd by rehashing themes of unity that were present during his 2008 campaign.

“Tonight, in this election, you, the American people, reminded us that while our road has been hard, while our journey has been long, we have picked ourselves up, we have fought our way back, and we know in our hearts that for the United States of America the best is yet to come,” Obama said.

Kristen Allen, a graduate student in Pitt’s political science department, said she believes the country will have mixed emotions about Obama being re-elected.

“It’s one of the nastiest elections that most people can remember,” Allen said.

Allen said she thinks that during Obama’s second term, the country will see more of the same from the president and Congress. She said it’s important to note that Obama doesn’t unilaterally control policy-making and will need to rely on Congress to pass legislation.

She said that once again Obama will deal with a divided Congress, since Republicans control the House of Representatives and Democrats have the Senate majority.

As Obama returns to the White House for a second term, student political activism group leaders have made it clear that they expected major efforts to be put forth by Obama to fulfill promises he made this election, as well as those he has not yet fulfilled from his first four years.

Lara Sullivan, president of Pitt College Democrats and a junior political science and English literature major, said she was with the volunteers of the Obama campaign office on Forbes Avenue most of Election Day working hard until the polls closed.

As she looks toward Obama’s second term, Sullivan said she hopes he continues pushing his initiatives that create jobs and stimulate the national economy.

Sullivan said she hopes that Obama focuses on immigration reform, specifically the Dream Act, which would grant a path toward citizenship for illegal immigrants in the U.S. Obama was unable to garner necessary support for the bill in his first term.

“The fact that he was re-elected shows that the country is looking for a president like Barack Obama. Hopefully these four years can be a time where congress can come together and not just say no,” Sullivan said. “Things are far greater than party affiliation.”

Casey Rankin, president of Pitt College Republicans and a senior political science major, expressed his unhappiness and slight surprise with the election results.

Despite his uneasiness, Rankin said he hopes that Obama pushes legislation supporting immigration reform.

Rankin also said he hopes that Obama will focus on specific issues, such as creating a more efficient tax code that stimulates economic growth to generate more revenue, rather than raising federal income tax rates.

“I hope the president decides to take a more responsible path on fiscal reform. Some realistic entitlements are going to have to be trimmed for future generations,” Rankin said.

Ultimately, Rankin hopes both parties can come together to move the country forward.

Kristin Kanthak, an associate professor in Pitt’s political science department, said she hoped members of Congress will dedicate more time toward discussions over substantive issues and less toward inconsequential riffs between legislators.

“I’d like to see Congress and the president work together on important issues such as social security and medicare, and less about sex scandals,” Kanthak said.

In regard to the fiscal cliff, Kanthak said she believes that the implications are really scary if you ignore certain facts. She explained that after Jan. 1, everyone’s taxes will rise as a result of the automatic end to former President George W. Bush’s income tax cuts, which he signed into law in 2001.

But, she said, legislators could simply reinstate the tax cuts the day after, if they chose to do so.

Kanthak also said that the Democrats have the bargaining advantage because the Republicans promised to not raise taxes, but the fiscal cliff makes that impossible. So, she said, they’ll likely seek to compromise with Democrats on the issue.

As a social scientist, Kanthak was not surprised by the election results.

“I’m happy in the sense that I study the elections scientifically, and I was proven right,” Kanthak said.