that, said 2010 definitely the worst possible years of sorts for both obama and democrats. now that the senate is back with the Democrats, only a matter of time, before they take a GOP for a ride in the congress.

anyone casting their eye on the crucial 2016 elections ? or is it too soon ?!

Interesting analogy, and I think one that is certainly true. It’s been fascinating from a personal standpoint following the U.S. elections this year, for this was my first one while living in the States, and you’re spot on when you describe Obama as a moderate Republican. In fact, in terms of foreign policy I think it can be argued that he’s been worse than Bush in many respects. The drone program, for instance, is entirely unjustifiable both legally and morally, and the precedents that it sets are unbelievably dangerous.
What I found most troubling, though, was that Americans — 99 percent of them — were unwilling to think beyond the two alternatives. There were, in fact, independents contesting the election like Gary Johnson who ran in the Libertarian Party’s ticket. But there is a complete unwillingness to look beyond what one would otherwise consider their political credo. If one were an Obama supporter watching the presidential debates, for example, it mattered little what Romney was saying — the only objective of watching the debates was seemingly to find holes in the “other” party’s statements. The third-party debate, which wasn’t aired by any of the major networks, was hardly watched or discussed, and while this was hardly surprising, it was certainly disturbing.
Also, the electoral college system in its present form leaves much to be desired. It encourages voter disenfranchisement, and many voters hardly vote because their state is pretty much settled well prior to the election. It can also lead to situations where the candidate who does not enjoy the popular mandate holding the presidency, as was the case when Bush won in 2000. On Tuesday night when Americans went to sleep knowing that they had re-elected Obama as president, they were still unaware of which candidate had actually secured the greater percentage of the votes.
All of that said, as you rightly point out, we can all look forward to four more years of the same divided, partisan decision making process, which will result in change of little significance.

What I found most troubling, though, was that Americans — 99 percent of them — were unwilling to think beyond the two alternatives. There were, in fact, independents contesting the election like Gary Johnson who ran in the Libertarian Party’s ticket. But there is a complete unwillingness to look beyond what one would otherwise consider their political credo. If one were an Obama supporter watching the presidential debates, for example, it mattered little what Romney was saying — the only objective of watching the debates was seemingly to find holes in the “other” party’s statements. The third-party debate, which wasn’t aired by any of the major networks, was hardly watched or discussed, and while this was hardly surprising, it was certainly disturbing.

Also, the electoral college system in its present form leaves much to be desired. It encourages voter disenfranchisement, and many voters hardly vote because their state is pretty much settled well prior to the election. It can also lead to situations where the candidate who does not enjoy the popular mandate holding the presidency, as was the case when Bush won in 2000. On Tuesday night when Americans went to sleep knowing that they had re-elected Obama as president, they were still unaware of which candidate had actually secured the greater percentage of the votes.

All of that said, as you rightly point out, we can all look forward to four more years of the same divided, partisan decision making process, which will result in change of little significance.