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All Songs Considered
5:12 am
Wed November 7, 2012

Dear 'Awful Band Name,' We Forgive You

Credit Robert Altman / Getty Images
Singer Ian Hunter of Mott the Hoople made some amazing music. The band name, on the other hand, could have used some work.

Originally published on Wed November 7, 2012 10:00 am

I first found the music of Gashcat buried among 2,000 other songs in a playlist NPR Music editor Stephen Thompson put together to help us prepare for South By Southwest earlier this year. I assumed I wouldn't like them and only listened because I thought the name was ridiculous. Gashcat. What does that even mean?

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It's All Politics
4:54 am
Wed November 7, 2012

World Leaders React To Obama's Reelection

Credit Thomas Mukoya / Reuters /Landov
Sarah Hussein Obama, grandmother to President Obama, celebrates his re-election in his ancestral home village of Kogelo, Kenya.

Originally published on Wed November 7, 2012 5:37 am

Once the news of President Obama's reelection spread, the congratulations started raining in.

NPR's Philip Reeves reports that one of the first messages came from British Prime Minister David Cameron.

"Above all congratulations to Barack Obama," Cameron said during a trip to Jordan. "I enjoy working with him, I think he is a very successful American president and I look forward to working with him in the future."

Correspondent Terri Schultz reports from Brussels that some leaders congratulated Obama through Twitter.

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It's All Politics
4:12 am
Wed November 7, 2012

New Hampshire Becomes First With All-Female Congressional Delegation, Governor

Credit Jim Cole / AP
Governor-elect Maggie Hassan thanks supporters with her husband Tom on Tuesday in Manchester, N.H. Hassan beat Ovide Lamontagne to keep the governor's seat in Democratic control.

After last night's election, New Hampshire became the first state to have an all-female congressional delegation and a female governor.

The Boston Globe reports:

"Democrat Maggie Hassan, the former majority leader of the state Senate, beat Republican Ovide Lamontagne in the race to succeed Governor John Lynch.

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It's All Politics
3:54 am
Wed November 7, 2012

For The Record: Final Numbers From Florida, Ohio, Virginia

Credit Google
The Florida election landscape.

Originally published on Wed November 7, 2012 7:03 am

It's refrain that will take you back to 2000: For NPR, Florida is still too close to call.

The big difference is that President Obama has enough of an electoral cushion that it would not affect the outcome of the elections.

Still, for record, here are the latest numbers from Florida, Ohio and Virginia, three states that gave pollsters headaches yesterday.

We'll start with Florida:

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Economy
3:50 am
Wed November 7, 2012

Economy Looms Large Over Obama's 2nd Term

Originally published on Wed November 7, 2012 8:31 am

For better or worse, the financial markets face a little less uncertainty — investors know who's going to be president for the next four years. Steve Inskeep talks to David Wessel, economics editor of The Wall Street Journal, about what the outcome of the presidential election means for the economy and financial markets.

Election 2012
3:40 am
Wed November 7, 2012

Democratic Candidates Do Well In Sunshine State

Originally published on Wed November 7, 2012 8:31 am

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Five hundred thirty-eight electoral votes were up for grabs on Election Day. President Obama has won, so far, 303 of them, a comfortable majority. Mitt Romney has 206. Twenty-nine are still unaccounted for - the electoral votes of Florida. Too close to call there. Less than a percentage point divides the candidates. But down the ballot, Democrats did well. The party retained a Senate seat and picked up a few key congressional races as well. NPR's Debbie Elliott reports.

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Election 2012
3:40 am
Wed November 7, 2012

Ohio Goes Blue, Disappoints Romney Supporters

Originally published on Wed November 7, 2012 8:31 am

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

For weeks, months - make that years - the conventional wisdom has been that the presidential election would all come down to Ohio, and Ohio would be very close. Well, that was partially right. Ohio was very close, but as NPR's Tamara Keith reports, not as pivotal as predicted.

TAMARA KEITH, BYLINE: Jack Shumate(ph) flew into Ohio last Thursday from Dallas, Texas. He came here because this was the place where he felt he could really make a difference for his candidate, Mitt Romney.

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Election 2012
3:40 am
Wed November 7, 2012

Obama Gets 4 More Years In The White House

Originally published on Wed November 7, 2012 8:31 am

President Obama will spend another four years in the White House after winning more than 300 electoral votes. In his victory speech from Chicago, the president promised that the "best is yet to come."

It's All Politics
3:22 am
Wed November 7, 2012

After Election, Congress Turns To 'Fiscal Cliff,' Other Money Issues

Credit iStockphoto.com
If Congress fails to address the alternative minimum tax, millions of households could see their federal 2012 tax bills jump.

Originally published on Wed November 7, 2012 8:40 pm

For months, Americans have been watching the presidential political drama play out nightly on the news. Now, with President Obama's victory, that story is ending.

But for the economy, an action thriller is just beginning.

Congress has just weeks to jump to the rescue of an economy moving closer and closer to the so-called fiscal cliff. That phrase refers to a $600 billion cluster of automatic spending cuts and tax hikes — all coming together at year's end.

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It's All Politics
3:21 am
Wed November 7, 2012

For Obama, Vindication, But Not A Mandate

Credit Robyn Beck / AFP/Getty Images
Obama has become only the third U.S. president to win re-election by a narrower margin than his first victory. Having won a second term, Obama will seek to set the nation's agenda on issues ranging from taxes to immigration, but he may continue to struggle in selling his ideas to Congress.

Originally published on Wed November 7, 2012 3:37 pm

  • Special Coverage: Hour 1
  • Special Coverage: Hour 2

Winning matters. Having earned a second term, President Obama will attempt to build on and expand the agenda from his first, launching new initiatives on tax policy, education and immigration.

But having won the popular vote by a bare majority — and still facing a divided Congress — Obama may find it difficult to gather momentum for his policies.

Despite the close result in the popular vote nationwide, Obama wasted no time claiming vindication for his ideas. In his victory speech early Wednesday in Chicago, he tied his re-election to two centuries of American progress.

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