Campaign Trail Results: Game #1005372
Play The Campaign Trail
This Game:
- Year: 2012
- Player Candidate: Barack Obama
- Running Mate: Joe Biden
- Difficulty Level: Easy
- Winner Take All Mode?: Yes
- Game Played:
View overall results, or a specific state:
| Candidate | Electoral Votes | Popular Votes | Pop. Vote % |
|---|---|---|---|
| ---- Barack Obama | 314 | 63,466,110 | 49.56 |
| ---- Mitt Romney | 224 | 63,340,629 | 49.46 |
| ---- Gary Johnson | 0 | 909,217 | 0.71 |
| ---- Jill Stein | 0 | 346,653 | 0.27 |
Visits:
- Florida:6
- Ohio:2
- Indiana:1
- North Carolina:1
- Pennsylvania:1
- Virginia:1
Answers:
- Should the government be doing more to stabilize home prices?I think we could be doing more to purchase homes from the banks, and perhaps rent them out until the situation improves. This would help support a price recovery.
- A recent Supreme Court decision affirmed an Arizona law allowing officers to check suspected illegal immigrants for proof of immigration status. Do you think this law is a good idea?The federal government has forced Arizona's hand by being too lax on enforcement for far too long.
- Should the federal government continue to finance newer companies that attempt to develop alternative energy resources, such as solar power and electric car manufacturers?Obviously a couple of firms went bankrupt, but that happens sometimes with new companies. We shouldn't let that distract us from the overall idea of this project. Funding should remain as is.
- To what extent should offshore drilling be permitted in the Gulf of Mexico?We need this oil to put America on a path towards energy independence.
- What is your position on gay marriage?Under no circumstances should the sacred institution of marriage be undermined. The Defense of Marriage Act was passed specifially to address this issue.
- Do you support allowing the Bush Tax Cuts to expire for high-income households at the end of 2012?Our most productive citizens need further tax cuts to stimulate business confidence, investment, and further job creation.
- We have now had 10 years to analyze the effects of the No Child Left Behind Act. Do you think it is time for a change?This idea was a failure from day one. Federal education funds are needed the most in low-income districts which have disproportionately suffered from this legislation.
- Does it still make sense to provide military aid to Pakistan's government?Further aid should be directly tied to Pakistan's continuing progress towards openness and democracy.
- Should all private insurance plans be required to cover contraceptives and birth control?Perhaps if someone really wants to object, there can be a process for them to obtain a religious exemption.
- The Affordable Care Act (i.e. 'Obamacare') will cap annual premiums, require minimum coverage levels, and outlaw discrimination against people with pre-existing conditions. What do you think?This program will be a disaster. Not only is it an unconstitutional violation of personal freedom, but it will lead to a decline in American health care and will prove to be financially impossible to maintain without socializing the health care system.
- Do you have any comment to make on the performance of Ben Bernanke as Chairman of the Federal Reserve?Bernanke has performed admirably given the challenges he has faced.
- Should the Social Security Trust Fund be purchasing U.S. Treasury bills? Should it be allowed to invest in other bonds and securities to potentially increase its rate of return? Or conversely, should the funds be held in a 'lockbox' to guarantee benefit payments?I think anyone who has managed money can tell you there is a place for U.S. Treasuries in any professional portfolio. Allowing the Social Security fund to invest in other securities opens a huge number of potential problems and conflicts of interest.
- Should American workers have the right to invest their Social Security withholdings in private accounts?This is the first step that those who wish to abolish Social Security would like to implement. The integrity of Social Security should be preserved at all times.
- Should federal fuel taxes be slightly increased (they have been the same since 1993) to avoid another catastrophe like the Minnesota bridge collapse of 2007?I don't see a problem with a small increase. We should be encouraging other forms of transportation, and on top of that our highways are woefully underfunded.
- Without divulging a preference for any particular religious group, do you believe that America was founded as a Christian nation?All of our founders with only a couple exceptions were deeply Christian individuals, and they frequently referenced the hand of providence in their political writings.
- What is the best way to make college more affordable for young people?There's not much that we can change right now. The system is hardly perfect but anything else we do will only make it worse.
- Is there too much regulation of the American logging industry?We need some rational management of our nation's resources, but I think too often we err on the side of caution when it comes to utilizing our nation's timber.
- Tell us how you feel about the Keystone Pipeline.It's shameful that we're even having a debate on this. It just goes to show how much influence oil companies have at the highest levels of government.
- After episodes such as the 'flash crash' in 2010, would you support a small financial transactions tax, with the sole purpose being to target high-frequency trading systems?I'm confident that the Financial Stability Oversight Council, created by the Dodd-Frank bill, will be effective in preventing excessive risk in the financial sector.
- Some liberals say that you have done more to help Wall Street banks than hard-working Americans. Are you open to a more universal program of mortgage write-downs if housing prices continue to decline?Mortgage write-downs may serve to further undermine our nation's housing recovery. If we stay the course now, the prices of these homes will eventually increase again to a more sustainable level. This will benefit everyone who holds a mortgage.
- What will be the overriding theme of your nomination speech at the Democratic Convention?I will talk at great length about how we've drifted from the tradition of liberalism that was built by the likes of Roosevelt, Johnson, and Humphrey. I will reaffirm my commitment to this vision in my second term.
- Would you support an Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution to protect women's rights?I think there are better and more practical steps we can take to ensure women's equality. Access to more affordable child care would be a good start, for instance.
- Over half of all sexual harassment complaints filed in 2011 were dismissed -- an increase from previous years. Do you think enough is being done to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace?I don't think we should jump to any conclusions based on one or two years of data. I'm glad you bring this up though. It's a subject worthy of further study by an official panel.
- What is your guiding foreign policy philosophy?Non-Intervention -- Most of our foreign troop deployments are relics of the Cold War. We need to stop occupying other nations and focus on fixing our problems here at home.
- In the most general terms, what will be your overall campaign strategy against Romney?We will attack Mitt Romney relentlessly. He has flip-flopped on key issues and he destroyed thousands of jobs at Bain Capital. He is out of touch with the American people, and he's attacking us for a health care plan that is nearly identical to his own plan in Massachusetts.