The Last Word: Assignment 9 due tomorrow Consider: What do you think we learned from the 2012 election? "Some are saying that while at Nelson Mandela's memorial, President Obama flirted with the female prime minister of Denmark right in front of Michelle Obama. Man, if President Obama felt that the flight to South Africa was long, can you imagine the way home?" –Conan O'Brien "President Obama shook hands with Cuban dictator Raul Castro. Or as Fox News reported it, 'Foreign communist shakes hands with the leader of Cuba.'" Conan O'Brien "A federal judge has ruled that President Obama's Kenyan uncle may remain in the United Sates. The judge also ruled that President Obama's Kenyan uncle is an amazing name for a band." –Conan O'Brien "Pope Francis was named Time magazine's person of the year, and today he performed his first miracle – he got people to buy Time magazine." –Conan O'Brien "New documents leaked by Edward Snowden show that the NSA actually spied on people while they played the video game World of Warcraft. I don't know but to me it sounds like some NSA agents had to think quick when they got caught playing World of Warcraft at work." –Jimmy Fallon

Toward Reform: The 2012 Campaign Unit 3: AP Government and Politics

The Nomination Campaign  Democratic race No challenger  Republican race Large field  Romney's victory Record as moderate Mormon faith Rick Santorum emerged as challenger 13.5

FIGURE 13.3: How did the frontrunner change throughout the 2012 Republican primary?

The Interim Period  Quiet period before party conventions Used for fundraising  Obama gets a boost then makes a gaffe Obamacare upheld “You didn't build that”  Romney announces running mate 13.5

How does a presidential candidate choose a running mate? 13.5

The Party Conventions  Consider the location...  Republican National Convention Tampa, Fl – Hurricane Isaac Romney's acceptance speech/30.3 million viewers  Democratic National Convention Charlotte, NC Obama's acceptance speech/35.7 million viewers 13.5

The General Election Campaign  Economy dominated  Attack on embassy in Benghazi, Libya  “47 percent”  Candidate debates  1 st : Romney wins, 67 million viewers  2 nd : Obama wins, 66 million viewers  3 rd : Obama wins, 59.2 million viewers  Vice presidential debate 51 million viewers 13.5

Election Results and Analysis  Romney loses Michigan  Obama wins swing states  Electoral College results: Obama 332, Romney

Which states were the focus of the 2012 presidential campaign?

Video: So What? IA_1/polisci/presidency/OConner_Ch13_The_Campaign_Pr ocess_Seg6_v2.html 13