Monday, March 26, 2012
Romney hits sixer but the fight continues
Mitt Romney, former Governor of Massachusetts and private equity boss, scored a six-state victory at the “Super Tuesday” elections and strengthened his leadership position among the Republican nominee candidates.
However he did not garner the sweeping delegate numbers that would have made him unassailable in the race for the nomination at the Republican National Convention in Florida this summer. Instead he yielded crucial gains to ultra-conservative rival and former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum.
With 419 delegates potentially up for grabs an overwhelming success would have brought Mr. Romney closer to the 1144 number required to secure the nomination and then challenge President Barack Obama in the general election in November.
Yet Mr. Romney scooped up 212 delegates bringing his total to 415. Mr. Santorum won 84 delegates on Super Tuesday and his overall tally stands at 176. Former House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich got 72 delegates and an outright victory in his home state of Georgia, putting his total at 105. Libertarian candidate and Congressman from Texas Ron Paul cornered 22 delegates for an aggregate score of 47.
Among the six states that Mr. Romney won, his narrow win in Ohio was considered especially significant given that no Republican nominee has entered the White House without carrying this heavily populated state offering a prize of 66 delegates. Results for Ohio’s counting came in shortly after midnight, and Mr. Romney said in a victory speech, "I'm going to get this nomination."
Not to be outdone and quite obviously anticipating the challenges of the forthcoming presidential elections Mr. Obama held a rare news conference on the same day. At the interaction with media he repudiated Republican attacks on his foreign policy record, especially the heightened focus on Iran, saying the Republicans were beating the drums of war. "Those folks don't have a lot of responsibilities. They’re not commander-in-chief," Mr. Obama added.
In addition to Ohio the states that Mr. Romney carried were Alaska, Idaho, Massachusetts, Vermont and Virginia. Mr. Santorum took away North Dakota, Oklahoma and Tennessee. Mr. Paul, who did not win in any state nevertheless benefitted from his success in Virginia, where he only faced Mr. Romney after Mr. Gingrich and Mr. Santorum failed to garner enough pre-election support to get their names onto the ballot.
Labels: 2012 presidential elections, Republican candidate Mitt Romney, U.S.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
U.S. unemployment rate drops to 8.5%
From The Hindu
The United States Bureau of Labour Statistics has announced that
in December non-farm payroll employment rose by 200,000 and the unemployment
rate dropped to 8.5 per cent in a sustained if slow downward trend. The news is
likely to bring cheer to Democrats and the White House in an election year
focused on the economy.
Noting that the end of 2011 saw the economy gain jobs in
transportation and warehousing, retail trade, manufacturing, health care, and
mining, the BLS said in its monthly report on Friday that unemployment rate
declined by 0.6 percentage points since August.
However, it cautioned that the labour market conditions for the
long-term unemployed, those jobless for 27 weeks or more, did not change
significantly remaining at 5.6 million, or 42.5 per cent of the total number of
those unemployed.
Unlike previous months in 2011 though, there was little change in
the civilian labour-force participation rate at 64 per cent and the
employment-population ratio at 58.5 per cent, suggesting that the drop in the
unemployment rate was due to new hires and was a sign of improving labour market
health.
Despite this positive trend the BLS statistics indicated that a
bulk of individuals considered “marginally attached to the labour force” in
December was scarcely different from a year earlier at nearly 2.5 million.
These individuals, who the BLS does not count as participating in
the current labour force, were those who wanted and were available for work, and
had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months but had not searched for
work in the four weeks preceding the survey for reasons such as school
attendance or family responsibilities.
Within this group marginally attached individuals is a subsection
of those labelled “discouraged workers” and they numbered 945,000 in December.
These were persons not currently looking for work because they believe no jobs
are available for them.
Sectors that made a major contribution to December’s job gains
included transportation and warehousing, where employment rose “sharply”, adding
50,000 new positions, the BLS said.
Retail trade was said to have continued to add jobs, with a gain
of 28,000 and manufacturing employment expanded by 23,000. The health care
sector similarly expanded in December with an upward tick of 23,000 jobs and
leisure and hospitality, employment in food services and drinking places added
24,000.
However suggesting continuing downward pressure from deep budget
cuts in federal and state governments, which have affected public sector
employment, the BLS noted that government employment changed little in December
but was down by 280,000 over the year. Job losses in 2011 occurred in local
government; state government, excluding education; and the U.S. Postal Service,
the report said.
Observers generally agree that the trends in these statistics
between now and November, the month of the next presidential election, will be
one of the top factors influencing voter behaviour in that election.
President Obama has continued to keep the economy in his sights in
his campaigns this year, winning a major victory last month when House Speaker
and Republican John Boehner agreed to the White House plan for extending the
payroll tax cut for middle class Americans.
Labels: 2012 presidential elections, Obama White House, U.S. Bureau of Labour Statistics
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Romney announces 2012 presidential bid
Mitt Romney, former Governor of Massachusetts and one of several frontrunner Republican Party candidates, has announced his presidential bid for 2012 through a campaign video that sought to fix the spotlight firmly on job-creation.
Mr. Romney, a multimillionaire businessman, is the second Republican candidate to throw his hat in the ring, after Tim Pawlenty, former Governor of Minnesota. Others likely to enter the fray are former Alaska Governor and Tea Party favourite Sarah Palin, former Arkasas Governor Mike Huckabee and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich.
On the Democratic side only the incumbent, President Barack Obama, has declared his candidacy, also through a campaign video, which however focused on the campaign method – “people organizing block-by-block, talking to neighbours, co-workers, and friends” – rather than any policy priority.
In launching his campaign, Mr. Romney criticised Mr. Obama’s policies for failing to create jobs quickly. Instead, he argued his own extensive private sector experience – he served, notably, as the CEO of management consulting major Bain and Company – had imbued him with the ability to get the United States economy back on track.
Touching upon the high unemployment rates that he had witnessed in states such as Nevada, Mr. Romney argued, “How has this happened in the nation that leads the world in innovation? The answer is that President Obama's policies have failed.”
Mr. Romney also said that from his vantage point in business and in government, he had “become convinced that America has been put on a dangerous course by Washington politicians, and it has become even worse during the last two years.” He also said that it would be his intention to balance the U.S.’ budget and enforce fiscal discipline.
In announcing the formation of an exploratory committee for his presidential run Mr. Romney is now able to officially seek donations for campaign funding, although he is widely expected to use a sizeable amount of his personal wealth as well.
According to a poll by Gallup late last month, Mr. Romney, Mike Huckabee, Ms. Palin and Newt Gingrich were “bunched in the top tier while another dozen or so possibilities bring up the rear.”
Similarly, a survey by the Pew Research Center in March also indicated “a fairly tight cluster”, with Mr. Romney at 21 per cent, Mr. Huckabee at 20 per cent, Ms. Palin at 13 per cent and Mr. Gingrich 11 per cent.
Labels: 2012 presidential elections, Republican party, Romney presidential bid
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