Elections 2012

'Let Mitt Be Mitt': But Who Was He?

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Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney arrives onstage early Wednesday morning in Boston, moments before conceding defeat in the 2012 presidential election.

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Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney talks with supporters during a campaign event at the Family Table Restaurant in Le Mars, Iowa, in 2011.

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Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney told a crowd in Pascagoula, Miss., in March that he was "learning to say 'y'all' and I like grits."

By Ari Shapiro

Originally published on Fri November 9, 2012 8:30 pm

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The postmortems for Republican Mitt Romney's presidential campaign are rolling in.

3:20 pm

Thu November 8, 2012

Likely Suspects: Guessing Obama's Second-Term Cabinet

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Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick introduces President Obama at a Democratic National Committee fundraiser last year. Could Patrick be chosen to replace Eric Holder as attorney general?

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Erskine Bowles, Bill Clinton's former chief of staff and co-chairman of Obama's Simpson-Bowles deficit-reduction commission, is also a potential candidate for treasury secretary. Bowles (right) is 57.

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Michele Flournoy, 51, former U.S. undersecretary of defense for policy, could become the first female secretary of defense.

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Former presidential candidate John Kerry, 68, is the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Obama could pick the Massachusetts senator to be secretary of state.

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Susan Rice's position as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations could make her an appealing choice to replace Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

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Deputy Secretary of State William Burns (left) could be up for a promotion.

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Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, 54, may stay on as attorney general if the current head of the Justice Department, Eric Holder, steps down.

Credit Kevin LaMarque / Reuters /Landov

National Security Adviser Tom Donilon could take over Hillary Clinton's role as secretary of state after she departs.

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Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick introduces President Obama at a Democratic National Committee fundraiser in Boston last year. Patrick may be one of Obama's choices for attorney general.

Credit Carolyn Kaster / AP

Jack Lew, 57, is President Obama's current chief of staff and his former budget director. He's a potential pick for treasury secretary.

By editor

Originally published on Fri November 9, 2012 4:18 pm

Every second-term president has to rebuild some or all of his Cabinet as high-profile members often time their resignations with the end of the president's first term. President Obama already is expected to receive a number of resignations, which he will have to fill.

With the guessing game under way, here's a look at some of the people who may emerge from a second-term Cabinet shakeup:

3:10 pm

Thu November 8, 2012

Maricopa County is Not Alone in Ballot Counting

By Mark Bevis

Maricopa is not the only county in the state waiting for final outcomes from Tuesday’s elections.

2:37 pm

Thu November 8, 2012

For Religious Conservatives, Election Was A 'Disaster'

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Attendees pray during The Family Research Council's Values Voter Summit on Sept. 14 in Washington, D.C.

By Barbara Bradley Hagerty

Originally published on Thu November 8, 2012 6:31 pm

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Many religious conservatives thought this might be the year of an evangelical comeback, when voters would throw President Obama out because of his support of same-sex marriage and abortion, and his health plan's birth control mandate. It didn't work out that way.

"I think this was an evangelical disaster," says Albert Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky.

2:32 pm

Thu November 8, 2012

Elated Kenyans Revel In Obama Win

Credit Ben Curtis / AP

Kenyans dance at a watch party for the U.S. presidential election in Kogelo village, home to President Obama's step-grandmother. Kenyans were elated by the president's re-election.

By John Burnett

Originally published on Thu November 8, 2012 4:02 pm

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As the news spread that the son of the late Barack Obama Sr. — a Kenyan government economist — had held on to the most powerful presidency in the world, the elation across this East African nation was contagious.

One Nairobi radio DJ could scarcely contain himself on Wednesday. "How are your feelings this morning, this Obama Day morning? Talk to me and share your feelings with me," he said.

High Hopes For A Long-Expected Visit

2:31 pm

Thu November 8, 2012

Why's It Taking So Long to Know the Winner?

By Mark Bevis

The election campaigns are over, candidates have declared victory, and the lawn signs should be coming down soon.

2:25 pm

Thu November 8, 2012

Florida's Most Populous County Finishes Vote Count

Credit Alan Diaz / AP

A Miami-Dade Elections Department employee tallies absentee ballot reports in Doral, Fla., on Thursday.

By Greg Allen

Originally published on Thu November 8, 2012 2:53 pm

It only took two extra days, but Florida's Miami-Dade County has finished counting votes in the presidential election.

Supervisor of Elections Penelope Townsley said Thursday she was pleased to announce that the state's most populous county, with more than 2.5 million people, was "the first of the large counties to complete its tabulation process."

Townsley was referring to three other large counties — Broward (population 1.8 million), Palm Beach (population 1.3 million) and Duval (population 870,000) — that were still tallying absentee ballots.

12:03 pm

Thu November 8, 2012

What Did The Billions The Campaigns Spent Buy?

By editor

Originally published on Fri November 9, 2012 12:34 pm

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Transcript

NEAL CONAN, HOST:

This is TALK OF THE NATION. I'm Neal Conan in Washington. Before the election recedes too far, there are a couple more takeaways that deserve attention. One is the money. Spending in the 2012 campaign reached record heights. Some estimates put the total at more than $6 billion, and the new outside groups, the superPACs and the nonprofits, spent more than a billion to buy maybe one million television ads. In a moment, the effect of that unprecedented flow of cash.

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Elections 2012

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1:18 am

Fri November 9, 2012