Mehdi's Morning Memo: Dave And Ed Fight Over Obama

Thursday, November 8, 2012 Mehdi's Morning Memo: Dave And Ed Fight Over Obama ** Who Benefits?** Gay, Female, Stones America ** Election By Numbers ** China ** Dorries ** Greek Riots ** 1) DAVE AND ED FIGHT OVER OBAMA President Obama's reelection is a good thing for David Cameron/Ed Miliband and a bad thing for Ed Miliband/David Cameron, depending on how you interpret the result. But what is clear is that both leaders must think the president's reelection is a success for their side. For the prime minister it shows that an incumbent can get reelected despite a troubled economy. For the Labour leader it means the man who has closer ideological links still runs the world. Tories point to the fact Obama used the phrase "we're all in this together". While Labour types may notice he spokes of "one nation" America. Others may suggest that this was entirely coincidental. The Lib Dems meanwhile can lay claim to having a similar name. Tweeting yesterday: "Also, now that the election is over can Americans stop messaging us thinking we're either amazing or evil liberal US Democrats?" Also Mitt said really mean things about our Olympics. So... Today's Memo is edited by Ned Simons as Mehdi is busy avoiding President Obama's drone strikes. 2) GAYER, MORE FEMALE AND STONED America awoke on Wednesday morning to find it still had a Democratic president, but also that it was more female, a bit gayer and slightly more stoned than it had been when it went to bed. There are a record number of female senators, same-sex marriage has been legalised in four states, the nation has its first gay senator and in Colorado, legalising weed got 50,000 more votes than Obama. 3) BY NUMBERS President Obama's victory was called by NBC News 12 minutes later than it was four years ago - the network called it at 11pm in 2008 and at 11:12pm in 2012. The amount of traffic The Huffington Post would have lost if Michelle Bachmann had lost her congressional seat - all of it. The US election by numbers. 4) RIOTS IN ATHENS Greek MPs approved deep cuts in the country's latest round of austerity measures, deemed essential to the country's European Union membership, but riots raged on the streets of Athens as the package passed by just three votes. Around 80,000 people demonstrated in fury outside the Greek parliament at the €13.5bn cutbacks, as 153 MPs out of the 300-seat parliament voted for the measures, and two of the ruling parties expelled MPs who had voted against the bill. Riot police used a water cannon and tear gas to disperse protesters, who screamed and hurled petrol bombs. 5) DORRIES Nadine Dorries, the suspended Tory MP, has taken an unsubtle swipe at David Cameron on the eve of entering the jungle for the reality TV series 'I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!' When quizzed on what behaviour she would not tolerate in the camp, Dorries pointedly remarked: "I do not like arrogant people who think they are born to rule." It's getting to the stage now where it is only news when Dorries doesn't say something mean about the prime minister. 6) CHINA Now that we have got the American election out of the way eyes turn to Beijing where the a once-in-a-decade power transfer is taking place. Hu Jintao will step down as president and Wen Jiabao will step down as premier. Unlike the US election, their successors are assured. They will be replaced by Xi Jinping and Li Keqiang. BECAUSE YOU'VE READ THIS FAR... Who said it? Donald Trump or a James Bond villan (QUIZ) 7) 'YOU EAT TOO MUCH' The Daily Telegraph reports today that Labour MP Jack Dromey told his wife Harriet Harman, the deputy leader of the Labour Party, "you eat too much," as she made her way to the buffet table at a US election party. How rude. 8) SEND FOR THE AUSSIE Boris Johnson has told David Cameron to hire right-wing political strategist Lynton Crosby and give him a "free hand" to run the Conservatives' 2015 general election campaign. The Mayor of London insisted Crosby was "by no means as right wing" as many people thought and said the Tories should "break the piggy bank" to secure the services of the sought-after adviser. His comments came after he addressed the 1922 Committee of backbench Conservative MPs in the Commons. QUOTE UNQUOTE "Four more years." - President Barack Obama on Twitter. POLL WATCH Barack Obama: Still the President Mitt Romney: Still not the president 140 CHARACTERS OR LESS @SirBobKerslake Sounds good Norman @chhcalling Just seen tomorrow's Daily Star front page: http://twitpic.com/bb7c0s Thank heavens there was no "Bushtucker trial" on display. 900 WORDS OR MORE In the Daily Telegraph Ben Brogan says: "The power of incumbency and social liberalism: what David Cameron has learned from Barack Obama" In the Independent Matthew Norman writes: "In the aftermath Karl Rove, and the delusional wing of the Republican party, will be forced still deeper into their reality-defying bunker" Got something you want to share? Please send any stories/tips/quotes/pix/plugs/gossip to Mehdi Hasan (mehdi.hasan@huffingtonpost.com) or Ned Simons (ned.simons@huffingtonpost.com). You can also follow us on Twitter: @mehdirhasan, @nedsimons and @huffpostukpol FOUR MORE YEARS My Friend, Barack Dorries In Jungle Gear US Election 2012: America Now Gayer, More Female And Slightly Stoned Mitt Romney Concedes US Election 2012 To President Obama (VIDEO) BLOG POSTS Peter Kellner: How Obama Won Barack Obama secured re-election by maintaining the coalition that gave him victory four years ago: black and Hispanic voters, young Americans, women and Americans with post-graduate degrees. These outnumbered Mitt Romney’s supporters among white men, older Americans and people who have not been to college. This emerges clearly from analysis of YouGov’s major survey of 36,000 Americans during the final week of the campaign. This showed Obama leading Romney by 51-49% among Americans who supported one or other of the two men. It will take some days, and possibly weeks, for the count to be completed; however, it looks as if the final tally will produce figures within 0.5% of these. Jeffrey Gedmin: It Was Romney's to Lose To the point about Romney: Derision and disparagement do not make for a very compelling vision. Nor does condescension. Saqeb Mueen: Obama's Second Term: Realist or Radical? When he won his first election four years ago, he promised to restore America's reputation in the world. But as he starts his second and final term following a strong election victory last night, president Barack Obama resumes service in the White House with a reputation abroad as a hard-nosed leader who killed Osama Bin Laden and who sent drones to pursue extremists in far-flung places. James Davis: The Day After Although the president came out on top last night, the mountain in front of him remains as high and the path to the summit as steep as it was just a few days ago. Conrad Black: "One of the Dumbest, Most Futile Elections in History" Mitt Romney was never going to be a candidate for Mount Rushmore, but barely 40 years after he warned of it, America has become, in Richard Nixon's eerie phrase, "a pitiful, helpless, giant." It is almost irrelevant to the world, except as an engine of fiscal incontinence.

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