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CNN 10

Barack Obama Wins Reelection

Aired November 07, 2012 - 04:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: CNN projects that Barack Obama will be re- elected president of the United States. He will remain in the White House for another four years.

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CARL AZUZ, CNN ANCHOR: Month of campaigning, primaries, caucuses, rallies, debates, all leading up to that moment -- the announcement of a victory and a second term in office for President Obama. It takes at least 270 votes in the electoral college to win the presidency. In Tuesday`s elections, CNN projected that President Obama won more than 300. In the race for the White House, Republican and Democratic candidates clashed over their differences, but as that race came to a close, the president talked about the things that Americans have in common. And he talked about what lies ahead for the nation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: It doesn`t matter whether you are black, or white, or Hispanic, or Asian or Native American, or young or old, or rich, or poor, able, disabled, gay or straight. You can make it here in America if you`re willing to try.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: I believe we can seize this future together, because we are not as divided as our politics suggest. We are not as cynical as the pundits believe. We are greater than the sum of our individual ambitions, and we remain more than a collection of red states and blue states. We are and forever will be the United States of America, and together with your help and God`s grace, we will continue our journey forward and remind the world just why is that we live in the greatest nation on Earth. Thank you, America.

God bless you. God bless these United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: For former Governor Romney Tuesday`s election marked the end of a journey that started nearly a year and a half ago. He won the Republican Party`s presidential nomination, but he wasn`t able to rally enough support to win the White House. Last night he congratulated his opponent, he thanked his supporters and he talked about his hopes for the country`s future.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This election is over, but our principles endure, I believe that the principles upon which this nation was founded are the only sure guide to a resurgent economy and to renewed greatness. Like so many of you, Paul and I have left everything on the field. We have given our all to this campaign.

(APPLAUSE)

ROMNEY: I so wish, I so wish that I had been able to fulfill your hopes to lead the country in a different direction, but the nation chose another leader and so Ann and I join with you to earnestly pray for him and for this great nation. Thank you and God bless America. You guys are the best. Thank you so much.

RONALD REAGAN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, NOVEMBER 4, 1980: I`m not frightened by what lies ahead and I don`t believe the American people are frightened by what lies ahead.

(APPLAUSE)

GEORGE H.W. BUSH, NOVEMBER 4, 1988: I want to work for the hopes and interests, not only of my supporters, but of the governors and of those who didn`t vote at all. To those who supported me I will try to be worthy of your trust and to those who did not, I will try to earn it.

BILL CLINTON, NOVEMBER 4, 1992. On this day, with high hopes and brave hearts and massive numbers the American people have voted to make a new beginning.

GEORGE W. BUSH, DECEMBER 13, 2000: The presidency is more than an honor, it is more than an office, it is a charge to keep and I will give it my all.

BARACK OBAMA, NOVEMBER 4, 2008: Because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AZUZ: Some big moments for those men who were all on their way to be presidents of the United States. But how much do you know about the position itself? Here is a little quiz we have for you. You may know that you have to be at least 35 years old, and you have to have been born in the U.S., but you also have to have lived in the U.S. for at least how many years?

The answer is 14. Next up, who was the longest serving U.S. president? Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected to four terms, and that record appears safe, because there`s a current limit of two terms. That song you hear played for president at official events, what`s the name of that? It`s titled "Hail to the Chief." What about the oldest elected U.S. president? Ronald Reagan was 69 when he became president. And the youngest elected? John F. Kennedy was elected at the age of 43. And finally, what is the U.S. president`s salary? $400,000 a year.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s time for "The Shoutout." Which of these U.S. political positions serves a two year term? If you think you know it, shout it out! Is it president, senator, representative or vice president? You`ve got three seconds, go!

U.S. representatives serve two year terms, the shortest of these options. That`s your answer and that`s your "Shoutout."

AZUZ: That means the entire U.S. House of Representatives, all 435 voting seats were up for election yesterday, before yesterday`s vote, Republicans had control with 240 seats, Democrats had 190 seats, and five seats were vacant. Last night, CNN projected that Republicans would keep control of the House. When we produced this show, Republicans had won an estimated 221 seats, Democrats had won 163 seats, and 51 seats were still undecided. As a balance of power was closer in the U.S. Senate and it was going to stay that way. Senators serve six-year terms, so only a third of the Senate, about 33 seats, were up for a vote on Tuesday. Going into that vote, there were 51 Democrats and 47 Republicans in the chamber, plus two independents who usually vote with the Democrats. When we produced this show, CNN predicted that Democrats would retain control with 51 seats, and Republicans would have 44 seats. Independents would have 2. Three seats were still undecided.

Now, to get the latest numbers in the House of Senate races, go to cnnstudentnews.com. We`ll talk about the White House and both houses of Congress. Voters also cast their ballots on all sorts of state and local races yesterday. We are going to focus on that top spot in state government, the governor. 11 were voted on yesterday. Let`s start with these six states. Vermont, Delaware, West Virginia, Missouri, North Dakota and Utah. In these states, the incumbent, the current governor was running for reelection, and in all of them, the incumbent won. The five other states that had gubernatorial elections yesterday were definitely going to get a new governor. The races in Washington and Montana hadn`t been polled when we recorded this program, but in New Hampshire and Indiana, the new governor will be from the same party as the current governor. North Carolina is the only state where we know there will be a different party in the governor`s mansion. So what it`s like to actually get out and vote in the presidential election? Especially for the first time? And I-Reporter in Georgia cast her first ballot yesterday. She talked to us about why she thought it was both cool and important for her to vote.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHELBY NORMAN, FIRST TIME VOTER, AGE 18: Hi, I`m Shelby Norman, and I`m in Saville (ph), Georgia waiting to go inside to start my first voting experience. I`ve been preparing for a little while, now I`ve been reading news editorials and learning a little bit about each candidate and everything that I will be voting for.

So, I`m inside now, I`m getting ready to vote. They`ve got my photo I.D. ready to go. And right now I`m feeling pretty anxious and pretty excited. Being a first time voter is a really crazy experience, and it`s something that I really looked forward to for a while now.

And so, I`m just really excited to go in there and stand in line with my parents and we`re just going to stand and wait. I`m not really sure how long it will take, but the line seems pretty short, and we can actually wait inside, which is really nice, because it`s really cold outside. So it`s time to go.

So I just came out of my polling place and I have finished voting for the first time, and I got my commemorate "I`m a Georgia Voter" sticker.

The whole process took around 45 minutes.

It`s very important for you to do your research. Because you are not just voting for who you think is going to be president, but also your state representatives. It`s very important that you go out and exercise your right to vote, because not everyone gets that choice. And it`s really important because your voice does get heard whether you think it does or not.

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AZUZ: All right, before we go, here is a look at what it was like to be here at CNN on election night.

So, the time is just after 7:15 p.m. The staff of CNN STUDENT NEWS is just coming right now on election night. There is so much anticipation in the air, it`s so much going on here, at CNN Center. We thought we`d give you a behind the scenes look of election night 2012. Come on.

So, we are downstairs right now in the CNN Center food court, and what you see behind me, is a panel assembled by CNN en Espanol. We are looking at folks who are Democrats, Republicans, independents. What they are going to be viewing is watching the coverage live as it develops and giving their comments and their thoughts on this election night. All the while, taking a look at it, up on the big screen here, at CNN Center.

We are now at CNN`s Image and Sound headquarters where a lot of the shows, a lot of the materials we show you are edited. In fact, you could see CNN STUDENT NEWS being put together as I speak.

Well, there is more to be seen on CNN STUDENT NEWS this week, but for now we have reached the end of the race, so we will be back on the air Thursday, and we will be looking for your support.

END