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National Black MBA Association – Metro New York Chapter
2012 C.A.S.H. PROGRAM
STUDENT CASE COMPETITION
2012 U.S. PRESIDENTIAL
ELECTION
Written by Program Director, Tyrone Scott

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Table of Contents
Prologue…………………………………….…………………………………………...……Pg. 3
The Major Issues……………………………………………………………………….……Pg. 7
 The U.S. Economy
 Healthcare
 Debt and Spending
 Taxes
Other Important Issues…..……………………………………………………..……….…Pg. 13
 Immigration
 Women & Race
 Education
 Energy
 War and U.S. Foreign Policy
 Foreign Politics
Candidate: President Barack Obama, Democrat…………………………………………Pg. 18
 Pros
 Cons
Candidate: Governor Mitt Romney, Republican………………………………………….Pg. 21
 Pros
 Cons
How the Electoral College Works…………………………………………………….…...Pg. 24
Presidential Election History……………………………………………………………...Pg. 26
Epilogue.……………………………………………………………………………….…...Pg. 27
Case Questions…………………………………………………………………………..….Pg. 28
Case Competition Instructions…………………………………………………….………Pg. 29

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Prologue
A presidential election year is upon us and yet again it will be a pivotal turning point in our nation’s history.
President Barack Obama (Democrat) will likely face former Massachusetts Governor, Mitt Romney
(Republican) in the general election come this November. Gov. Romney is still yet to officially win the
Republican nomination but that is a mere formality as this case goes to print. He WILL be the opponent that
President Obama will face off against to seek his second term in office. This case will lay out many of the
issues that both candidates face in the six months leading to the November 6 election. It will explore the
primary issues that each must address if he is to win and it will also discuss issues that are not the main issues
of this election cycle but will nevertheless play an important role on either or both men.
There are too many issues to think about when considering a U.S. presidential election, which is why it is
critical to focus on the main issues at play along with a few of the secondary issues. Another point to think
about is what may be a major issue for one group of people may or may not be important to another. This is
called ideology. And each and every one of us has our own ideology. Some have stronger convictions than
others but we all still have a set of guiding principles that defines us as people and as citizens. As such, there
are still critical issues that bring us all together. The September 11 attacks were a perfect example of that.
There are also just as critical issues that divide us, such as the political process in our country. Then there are
things that no matter what ‘side’ one is on, everyone is impacted the same. That would be the case with our
current economic situation in the country and in the world for that matter. We are ever so slowly coming out
of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s. And it doesn’t matter if you’re a
Republican or a Democrat, young or old, rich or poor, black or white, everyone has felt its pain, albeit some
more than others. But there is one fact that is undeniable by anyone from an economic expert to a political
novice; the economy and the jobs issue will BY FAR be the #1 topic that decides this year’s election.
In addition to the economy and jobs being major factors that impact all sides of the argument, other factors
are not far behind in terms of being just as important. These are considered major issues as well. They
include the debate over healthcare with the perils surrounding the Affordable Care Act signed into law by
President Obama during his first year in office. Presidents have been trying for over 100 years to bring
healthcare to nearly all Americans, and even so it has now been accomplished, its very constitutionality is at
question. And what of the cost of this healthcare law and the rising cost of healthcare in our nation in
general? This topic along with the other economic heavyweights will also be a primary factor in who wins the
White House in the fall. Another major issue that comes to the forefront during this election cycle is the debt
and spending argument. Debt is simply how much money the federal government owes to its debtors,
primarily foreign governments and other private investors. But debt is also an important factor down to the
average American family level. With a ruined economy and some 15-million people being out of work, many

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are finding themselves in the same kind of debt the federal government faces. And when you have no job
and no money and no way to pay it back, debt is never a good thing to have too much of. This brings us to
the spending side of the equation. Many will argue that the only way to jumpstart the economy is to spend
our way out of it. They say this will lead to the creation of American jobs, exports to foreign buyers and the
like. Still others say excess, lavish and wasteful spending is what contributed to the mess in the first place.
Either way, the debt vs. spending argument will play a major role in both candidates’ strategies throughout
the summer and into the fall election. Another major factor impacting this election is the oft dreaded ‘T’
word—taxes. We all have to pay them, everyone from a mom and pop store to a major corporation but the
approach to the tax issue is one topic that could not have President Obama and Governor Romney further
apart as we will discuss later.
Now then, if all of the above issues were considered major factors in this year’s election, then what could
possibly be considered secondary or even tertiary factors that will decide our next president? Well some of
these issues may not necessarily be monetary hot buttons but what many of them have in common is they are
ideological hot buttons. Take the topic of immigration for example. With the rising number of both legal
and illegal immigrants in our country, both Democrats and Republicans are embracing blueprints on how to
handle this tide of new people. And just like the candidates’ approaches on taxes, again the issue of
immigration couldn’t have the two or their respective parties further apart. Whereas the Democrats have at
least seemed pro-immigration with policies and pathways to citizenship, the Republican Party has fought it
with controversial individual state laws in the name of security as we will discuss later.
Another set of sensitive topics that are in the forefront in 2012 are issues strongly impacting women and the
issue of race and race relations in the U.S. The media would have us believe that the election of the nation’s
first African-American president in 2008 would put an end to the race relations discussion in the U.S. That is
a notion that is beyond laughable in 2012. And women’s issues have never been a more divisive topic of late
as they are in 2012. It only takes one to recall the Congressional testimony of a Georgetown University law
student named Sandra Fluke to understand the importance of women’s issues and the impact women will
have in this election. Fluke, who on February 16, 2012 was testifying in support of the Affordable Care Act
to the House of Representatives Democratic Steering and Policy Committee on the importance of
contraceptives for students. Her testimony itself was not the issue, and we may not even know her name to
this day had it not been for one Rush Limbaugh, the oft controversial and highly inflammatory conservative
talk radio show host, who made such disparaging remarks about Fluke, whom he did not know, that they
weren’t even worth printing in this case. The point being is that it caused such an uproar of controversy and
put Fluke and all women on center stage all while stoking the political and ideological fires in all of us. The
incident was such a hot topic to a seemingly innocent college student that President Obama personally called

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Fluke to commend her on her outspokenness and to remind her to think little of the statements of a man
filled with so much hate.
Other issues that are considered top tier factors playing a role in the election are energy and education. No
less than two Republican presidential candidates have named these two government departments as targets of
reduction or abolishment altogether. And President Obama has been given flack from all sides on his
support or non-support of oil companies, coal energy companies, clean energy companies, and the like.
When it comes to energy and education, there is never an end to the critics no matter what policy a candidate
adopts. That brings us to war and the U.S. foreign policy. We are still technically fighting two foreign wars in
2012. Although the Iraq war is winding down and troops have all but left the country, we still remain
committed to long-term troop presence in Afghanistan. Just within the last week, President Obama made a
secret overnight trip to the warzone in Afghanistan to sign a 12-year agreement with the Afghan president
that promises even though we are ending our military presence there, we will still maintain a peacekeeping
presence through 2024.
In addition to war and the U.S. foreign policy in general, one has to consider the political atmosphere across
the globe right as we go to print with this case. The Arab spring of 2010 and 2011 is still toppling long-time
dictators. The economic pressures in Europe are having the same effect on once promising political
candidates there as well. Just on May 6, French President Nicolas Sarkozy lost in his re-election bid to
Socialist candidate Francoise Hollande. Sarkozy became the 11th consecutive European leader to lose in a re-
election bid since the beginning of the world economic crisis. And for the untrained eye or novice person
who simply doesn’t understand the intertwined global connection, it might be very easy to say that such
events so far away from daily life in America have little to no effect on our own presidential election. That
view would be an unwise mistake.
Now that we have laid out all of the major issues of this year’s election, we will next look at each more in
depth. We will then explore this election from both candidates’ points of view and present the pros and cons
of both men. We will then once and for all explore how the Electoral College works and how it, not the
popular vote decides the presidency. We will also look at a historical view of previous presidential elections
and what insight they might provide us in 2012. By the time students have completed reviewing this case,
they will be among the most educated people in the country on just how the political process works in the
United States and what will determine the 2012 election. The reason the students will be the most
knowledgeable on the topic is actually quite sad—Americans do not take the time to truly understand how
politics and elections work and how we each play a very important role in the process. We can either choose
to get involved in that process or at the very least arm ourselves with knowledge. This is so that once we are
presented with a “pitch” on why we should vote for a certain candidate, we know the facts. The problem is

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many of us choose to act in the same ways we did generations ago. So despite the entire landscape changing
around us, we choose to be Democrats because we always were and so were our parents. Or we choose to
always vote for a Republican because that’s who our favorite president was. It’s almost unconscionable to
think about all the silly philosophies many American people use to vote for the holder of the most powerful
office on the planet. In terms of being aware of world affairs, we are already the laughing stock of the world
and what is even more embarrassing is that not many of us even care to understand how our own system
works. Why is it that a network like CNN has to constantly explain what the Electoral College is and how it
works? Why is it that someone puts on a negative attack ad because he or she is down in the polls and the
next thing you know, they are winning? And most importantly, when does this madness of blissful ignorance
end and people start doing what some people in other countries and even our recent ancestors fought and
died to do—VOTE! And on top of that, is it too much to ask to know what we are voting for and why we
are doing it versus letting outside and unknown factors tell us what to do? These are some of the things
students need to think about as they analyze this case. Things may not always be what they appear to be on
the surface, so the students will have to peel multiple layers of onions so to speak in order to come to a
conclusion about this election that they can support and defend to a critical audience. Once completed and if
the students put in the time and hard work of truly knowing the issues and the geo-political factors that will
ultimately decide this important election in our history; they will have done something that not a lot of us do
yet almost all of us who are eligible to vote should do. It is important to have sense of understanding topics
and issues that are of utmost importance to millions of people and only then make our own principled
decisions. This case will not be about sound bites, marketing campaigns or pitchmen trying to sway an
opinion, it will simply present facts. It will allow the students to understand the process and the importance
of all Americans educating themselves on key issues, and then exercising their right to vote once
knowledgeable about all sides of the story. Upon acquiring this knowledge, the student will then be asked to
present their interpretation of the 2012 election.

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The Major Issues
The U.S. Economy
Our economy is in a state of slow but painful recovery after the financial crisis of 2008 and 2009. Both the
number of jobs gained (or lost) and the unemployment rate are two of the most widely watched statistics that
the government reports on at the end of each month. During normal or less trying economic times, these are
numbers that the average person could care less about, but with the economy the way it is, even the most
novice person knows what they mean now when they are reported. At the beginning of the next month,
these figures are reported for the previous month and they give an indication of just how much the economy
is recovering or not. The unemployment rate in particular is a bellwether for presidential elections. No
president in the last fifty or so years has ever won reelection with a national unemployment rate above 7.2%.
As of April, 2012 the U.S. unemployment rate now stands at 8.1%, down from a high during Obama’s turn in
office of 10.0% in October 2009. Table 1 below shows the monthly employment rate since the beginning of
2002. The decline in this rate has been steady from its recent October 2009 high but not fast enough for the
millions of Americans who are currently out of work. It is this fact that continues to be a thorn in President
Obama’s reelection campaign. After all, it was a sluggish economy that did in both former Presidents Carter
and Bush the father. As Figure 1 below shows, the number of jobs added in April, 2012 was not viewed as a
number that indicates a growing economy. April represented the third consecutive month of declining
increase in non-farming jobs after the number had showed consecutive months of increase prior to that
period. The 115,000 jobs added in April were the lowest since October, 2011. This graph also shows the
same 8.1% unemployment rate but also shows how even more severely blacks and Hispanics are being
impacted by the economy. The national unemployment rate for Hispanics is 10.3% and for blacks, it is even
worse at 13.0%. And all of these numbers only count the “unemployed”. They do not take into
consideration all of those that are “underemployed” and cannot find full-time work or have given up looking
for a job altogether. These people are not even included in the 8.1% national unemployment, and since so
many of them stopped looking the last couple of months, many economists feel this is why the rate has
dropped two consecutive months, not because things are improving.
If people do not have jobs, it is easy to blame the person holding the highest office in the land. A politician’s
policies are under greater scrutiny when millions are not working and are in the midst of long-term
unemployment, some greater than a year. This is the main charge that Gov. Romney will continue to use all
the way until November. He will stake a claim that President Obama’s policies have failed and have caused
the economy to worsen and have made it impossible for people to find decent jobs. And when one is down
and out and in debt, it is not a stretch for a person to believe anyone who comes along and says “I know a

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way that can get you out of this.” And the rhetoric can come from either side in this campaign, but
regardless, it is a sure bet that the words once uttered by then candidate Bill Clinton in 1992 will hold true
here twenty years later, “It’s the economy, stupid!” So with six months to go until the general election, it is a
safe bet that these last two months of the 2nd quarter of the year and the entire 3rd quarter will absolutely
decide who wins the White House. In looking at the previous two 3rd quarters of 2010 and 2011 from the
graphic below, neither presents a positive picture for President Obama. If these types of job growth or
declines are repeated this year, there may be nothing President Obama can do to save his presidency, no
matter how unpopular Gov. Romney may be with certain constituencies. Most economists think we need to
add at least 200,000 jobs per month at a sustainable clip to demonstrate real and significant economic growth.
And if that particular scenario begins to happen over the next six months, then it is Gov. Romney who would
need a miracle or a scandal to win in November.
Table 1: U.S. Unemployment Rate Chart by Year
Figure 1: U.S. Jobs by Month

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Healthcare
On March 23, 2010 when President Obama signed what was initially dubbed as the signature legislation of his
early presidency, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) was cheered by millions yet
perhaps drew an equal amount of jeers throughout the land. The law was designed to provide healthcare
coverage for more than 30 million of the over 46 million Americans (see Figure 2) that currently do not
have coverage. However, when it was still a bill being voted on by both houses of Congress, it was passed
explicitly along party lines with nearly all Democrats voting for it and all Republicans voting against it. Here
was a piece of legislation that the country had been waiting for 100+ years to see finally become law and yet
something that was such a basic need for so many became a lightning rod. The passage of this law helped
energize the far right conservative moment for its enormous cost and fear of too much government say-so in
people’s lives. It, along with Obama’s election itself paved the way for the Tea Party movement. But what
was all of the anger and frustration about when so many Americans did not have access to basic health
insurance? Let’s look at some of the highlights that the ACA offered and then you make your own
assessment as to whether this was a good policy for the new president to tackle right off the bat. Various
components of the law are currently scheduled to take effect between 2010 and 2020.
 Made it a requirement for insurers to offer the same premium to all applicants (provided same age
and location) without regard to pre-existing conditions
 Small businesses able to get a subsidy if they buy insurance through an exchange
 Annual and lifetime coverage caps placed by insurance companies would be banned
 All persons not covered by employer plans, Medicare or Medicaid or other public insurance
programs would be required by law to buy into health insurance or pay a penalty
 Children would be allowed to remain on their parents insurance until their 26th birthday, even those
who no longer live with their parents
 Insurers are prohibited from dropping policyholders when they get sick
 All new plans must cover certain preventive care services such as mammograms and colonoscopies
 Mandatory provide coverage for contraceptives with the exception of churches and houses of
worship
These are just some of the components of the law. But the entire law itself has been called into question.
The law was designed to provide healthcare for more Americans while asking everyone to pay their fair share
of rising healthcare costs in hopes to save the entire system from collapsing. Democrats, the poor and the
sick saw this as a truly life-changing piece of legislation, but conservatives and some in the business
community saw it as a big government play to invade state’s rights by forcing people to buy insurance.
Despite its many benefits, as new phases of the law kick in, many have grown increasingly against it. As a
result, some 29 states have introduced legislation at the state level to opt-out of the law. And after multiple
lawsuits at the Federal level, the U.S. Supreme Court recently heard arguments from both sides on the law.

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Early indication based on the justices questioning is that President Obama’s signature piece of legislation is in
grave danger of being deemed at unconstitutional or greatly diminished at best. The decision is expected to
come by the end of June when the justices will announce their decision. And given the current makeup of
the Supreme Court, most expect the law will be voted down 5-4, primarily along ideological lines as opposed
to a pure constitutionality decision. Either way, this pending decision will serve as a rallying cry for both
supporters and opposition alike. And it will provide fighting points for either candidate.
Debt and Spending
The current U.S. national debt is $15.7-trillion dollars. That’s trillion, with a ‘T’. That total continues to grow
as evidenced by the real-time national debt clock on www.usdebtclock.org. A national debt basically means
the amount of “public” money the U.S. government owes to individuals, corporations and countries around
the world. The debt is so large right now that it is actually bigger than our Gross Domestic Product (GDP),
which is a measure of how much the economy is growing. The fact that the national debt has surpassed the
value of the GDP ($15.1-trillion) has become a major rallying cry for budgetary conservatives. They tend to
blame Obama solely for this trend in the escalation of debt. They say this because the national debt was only
$9.7-trillion in 2008 when Obama was elected, while GDP stood at $13.8-trillion. Furthermore, the
Figure 2: Total and Percent of Americans with no Health Insurance

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conservatives, in particular the Tea Party crowd tends to talk about how the debt burden will be something
that our children and grandchildren will have to deal with. There is absolutely some truth to this no matter
what political party you support. The 2016 estimated national debt will be somewhere around $22-trillion,
while GDP will only be around $17-trillion. That means we will continue to grow our debt more than we
grow the products and services and output that brings in money to the country, at an increasingly larger rate.
That is not a good trend for economic future prosperity. As everyone knows, when a bill collector is owed
money, he WILL come calling for it and do whatever it takes to get it.
The debt and the current trend of spending is why for the first time in our nation’s history, we lost our AAA
bond credit rating from. Standard and Poor’s who is one of the leading agencies that measures a company or
government’s ability to repay its debt believes that the U.S. government is the riskiest it has ever been. This
had ramifications worldwide because if the U.S., the world’s largest economy cannot pay its bills, what does
that say for the world economy? This reduction came after a prolonged battle between the president and
Congressional Republicans over raising the debt ceiling. This is the ability of the country to spend up to a
certain level. What was seemingly an easy decision and one that every president going back 75 years has
typically had a complete understanding with Congress on ended up being held hostage by a few right-wing
conservatives. And even though like every president before him, Mr. Obama was able to get his wish in
raising the debt ceiling, it cost the U.S. its rating down to an AA+. It is projected to take years to get the
rating back but that is only if the nation starts to either cut its spending or reduce its debt in other ways.
When it comes to spending, there are many categories of federal spending to consider but the big three that
encompass the federal budget include in order, Social Security ($993-billion) Medicare/Medicaid ($987-
billion) and Defense ($584-billion). Both parties and everyone in between all agree that we can never make a
serious movement on budget/spending reduction until we seriously look at how to reduce each of these three
categories. But to even mention taking any action on any of them in wholesale numbers would be political
suicide. Democrats tend to fight tooth and nail to protect Medicare/Medicaid which are primarily used for
the poor. Republicans do the same with protecting Defense spending, which is primarily being used now to
support the two wars the country is in. And NEITHER party wants to touch Social Security for fear of
angering older Americans and even younger ones who already feel that this retirement plan will not have
enough money in it by the time they retire.
Taxes
Another very important issue that will have a massive impact on the 2012 presidential election is taxes.
President Obama and Gov. Romney have completely differing views on taxes as do their respective parties.
The Republicans want to permanently extend the Bush-era tax cuts, primarily for wealthier Americans. Their

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rationale is the age old Republican notion of “trickledown economics”; if we reward those at the top of the
scale, they will create opportunity for everyone in a manner that trickles down to all segments of the
economy. President Obama and the Democrats have a completely different view and whereas they do not
mind giving tax cuts to the middle class, they are emphatically against giving tax cuts to wealthy Americans.
The president wants to raise the taxes on anyone making more than $200,000 annually. The Democrats feel
that part of the debt issue is due to the fact that we are not taking in enough money from taxes from the
people who can most afford to pay them. You might have seen the president recently trump his Buffet Plan,
which states that the mega rich should pay a higher tax rate than average Americans. You will see the back
and forth debate on taxes continue throughout the entire election cycle and the man who convinces the
American people that his tax plan makes the most sense could perhaps be the winner in November. To get a
better understanding of the tax debate, look no further than each candidate’s own personal tax situation. Last
year, Mr. Obama paid about 22% in taxes for 2011. Mr. Romney on the other hand paid about 14% tax rate.
Not only that, he is catching much grief for shielding much of his income from paying federal taxes by
placing it in tax havens such as Swiss and Cayman Island accounts, two governments known for allowing
foreigners to shelter money from taxes and for other reasons.
The bottom line is that the Republican Party has moved so far right toward conservatism that the majority of
it is absolutely dead set on not raising taxes under any circumstances. Their approach is cut spending, not to
raise taxes, even in cases where there is an obvious tax discrepancy. Obama’s plan is to end the Bush tax cuts
that expire at year’s end and work to begin revising the tax code altogether. It will be critical for both men to
woo the middle on this issue to win in November. They do not have to convince their own base, this
particular topic is about winning over the Independent and more moderate voters in the middle of the
political spectrum.
Vs.

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Other Important Issues
Immigration
Issues that will play a critical role in the election that may or may not have a financial impact to the country
are plentiful. Many of these issues are moral in nature as opposed to fiscal. This would include immigration.
This is an issue that predominantly impacts Hispanics and those that would try to keep them out of the
country if it is believed they are here illegally. Mr. Romney and Republicans would like to make the case to
the American people that the influx of illegal immigrants is a threat to national security and is a primary cause
of the drug trafficking from Latin American countries. This is why many southern states such as Alabama,
Georgia and Arizona have put in place the toughest laws ever to stem the tide of illegal immigrants. The
Arizona law signed by Republican Governor Jan Brewer is so controversial that it has reached the Supreme
Court and like the national healthcare law, a decision will be handed down sometime in June. This case will
have an impact on many states who have thought about implementing similar controversial laws. The
question is if the Arizona law is upheld as being constitutional, do the floodgates open to any state that wants
to have similar laws? In addition, what will be the reaction of Hispanics in November whether the Court
upholds or overturns the Arizona law? Hispanics have traditionally voted Democrat as the Republicans have
had an incredibly difficult time selling their brand to this highest growing segment of the U.S. population.
Women & Race
The Sandra Fluke issue is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to this election being one of the most
critical ones for women in our nation’s history. If the healthcare law for example is overturned by the
Supreme Court, many fear this will have a more negative impact on women. Women are more often the
heads of households than ever before and are more susceptible to pre-existing conditions that would
otherwise be covered by the healthcare law. This is why Gov. Romney is having such a hard time connecting
to women on the issues that are most important to them, including wanting to defund the Education
Department and remove funding from Planned Parenthood. This type of policy rhetoric has caused the
governor to be down by 10 points or more to the president with women. In addition to the Hispanic vote,
this is one block of voters that Mitt Romney will have to close the gap with the president on; otherwise he
will mathematically have no chance of winning the election.
In terms of race relations in this country and their continual impact on politics, one doesn’t have to look any
further than the Trayvon Martin case in Florida. Many African-Americans believe that George Zimmerman
is guilty of murder whereas many whites feel the case is getting too much exposure and don’t understand why
the media continues to be so fascinated with it. Try telling an African-American mom with teenage boys that
justice doesn’t need to be served in this case. She will instantly understand all that is at stake. This is only a

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microcosm of the issue of race in our country. The recession has hurt ethnic minorities at a much greater clip
than it has whites, as evidenced by a plethora of economic data. The numbers typically never lie and it
doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that there is a tremendous gap between races in our nation. It is
clear that President Obama will undoubtedly win the minority vote, but with the downtrodden feeling of
many minorities, the key question remains is will this block of voters be as enthusiastic as it was in the
historical election of 2008? This will be critical for Mr. Obama’s chances of keeping his own job. He has to
find a way to convince the most down and out that he still has their back and if given another chance, he will
enact policies that improve the lives of minorities of all races.
Education
According to the Huffington Post, the three-yearly OECD Programme for International Student Assessment
(PISA) report, which compares the knowledge and skills of 15-year-olds in 70 countries around the world, the
United States ranked 14th out of 34 OECD countries for reading skills, 17th for science and a below-average
25th for mathematics. These statistics prompted the following reaction from the top education official in the
Obama administration. "This is an absolute wake-up call for America," U.S. Education Secretary Arne
Duncan said in an interview with The Associated Press. "The results are extraordinarily challenging to us and
we have to deal with the brutal truth. We have to get much more serious about investing in education." The
situation is so desperate yet so lost in the shuffle of many of the other just as important issues noted earlier in
the case, that it is hard to imagine a positive outcome for our children’s futures. There is an interesting irony
when it comes to education in this country. Everyone knows that it is important that we address the
multitude of issues we face in order for our youth to grow up and be able to compete in an ever competitive
world—but yet no one seems to be able to solve the education gap. Yes there are pockets of success with
various state and private education programs, but with each passing year, our national education system
moves closer to the abyss to the point where the greatest nation on the face of the earth is on the verge of
irrelevancy with respect to worldwide education results.
Energy
The energy debate is fueled by the cost of oil which drives the cost of gasoline. Oil is measured by the barrel
and when the price of a barrel of crude oil (which directly makes gasoline) is typically over $100 a barrel then
this causes chaos at the pump. Within the last week before this case went to print, crude oil was trading at
less than $97 a barrel, as demonstrated by Figure 3 below. The price has come down $10 in the last week,
causing Americans who follow this to understand that they just saved a few dollars on their gas as a result.
There is always a fear that conflict in the Middle East, the world’s most prominent oil producing region will
continue to drive oil prices up and thus cause gasoline in the U.S. to be more than $5 a gallon. This is the
hypothetical price that many economists have felt would be too much for Americans to stomach and would

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cause such an uproar that it could potentially impact the election. The national average price of gas the week
of May 7 was $3.75 per gallon. If gas remains under $4 a gallon, energy will not be much of an issue with the
election. But if we are in a sustained period of $100/barrel and $5/gallon then both political parties will
criticize each other’s energy policies for the next six months. Like every other issue discussed thus far, the
Republicans and Democrats have drastically different views and policies on oil and energy as a whole.
Republicans want to do more drilling in America and off its shores. They also want to build a pipeline that
runs from Canada to the Gulf Coast. They also have differing views from Democrats on the argument
around “clean energy”, which involves non-coal and oil producing ways of harvesting energy. Democrats
tend to take a more environmentally friendly view on energy. And although this is a minor issue compared to
some of the others at this point in the election, it won’t take much to push American families over the edge
by having even more money come out of their pockets and into something our car-loving society takes for
granted. That would leave only the politicians to blame and that blame would primarily be placed on the guy
at the top.
War and U.S. Foreign Policy
With so many domestic issues dominating this election cycle and with the economy still struggling to recover,
many Americans tend to not pay much attention to our nation’s foreign policy. After all, it’s hard to worry
about what’s going on in China or Iran when you’re a single parent trying to balance keeping food on the
table and paying the bills. Foreign policy to many Americans seems just that—foreign. But it is important
that we all pay closer attention to how our government deals with foreign affairs. The world is too inter-
Figure 3: U.S. Oil Prices during the Period of 5/1/2012 to 5/9/2012

16. 16
connected not to. The rest of the world knows more about what goes on in America than Americans know
what is going on in the rest of the world and that behavior needs to change.
Much of the U.S. foreign policy is currently dominated by war on two fronts, in Iraq and Afghanistan. And
as noted before, Iraq has all but wined down and Afghanistan is scheduled to do the same by 2014, despite a
recently signed pact between the president and his Afghan counterpart that will keep a peacekeeping force in
that country until 2024. For the most part, Americans however are tired of war. And even though these
most recent wars were predicated by what happened on 9/11, we have still been fighting wars in the same
region of the world since Desert Storm in 1991. The cost of these wars have been mammoth both in the
death of so many Americans, local citizens and monetarily speaking. War has driven up our debt and has
changed our view with many around the world.
Other non-war aspects of U.S. foreign policy include our dealings with other countries. Lately there has been
much talk about U.S.-China relations since that country is on track to surpass us as the world’s largest
economy sometime in the next 30 years. Our relationship with China has never been more important. Also
with Europe in just as bad of an economic climate as we are, if not worse, our relationship with our partners
there has not been this important since World War II. The president’s interactions with Great Britain, France
and Germany in particular will only grow more important as Europe and the U.S. are joined at the hip in
trying to end the worldwide recession. Then there is an old Cold War enemy turned ally turned ‘questionable’
at the moment—Russia. Gov. Romney even recently went so far as to say that Russia represented the
number one threat to America, hypothesizing that the Cold War was actually not over. Finally our foreign
policy is shaped by our dealings with developing nations such as India, Brazil and Mexico in addition to
seemingly rogue nations like Syria, Iran and North Korea, three countries that George Bush once dubbed the
new ‘axis of evil’.
Foreign Politics
Since the financial crisis started in 2008, incumbent leaders around the world have had a tough time holding
onto their jobs. Most recently, French president Nicolas Sarkozy lost his bid for re-election to Socialist
candidate Francois Hollande. In 2011, Spain’s leader Jose Zapatero saw his party (Socialist) heavily defeated
by the conservative People’s Party. Also, Italy’s Silvio Berlusconi resigned as the financial crisis devastated
Italy’s economy. Before that it was Greece’s George Papandreou who resigned due to eroding public
confidence. Slovenia’s Prime Minister, Borut Pahor also stepped down in 2011. Portugal’s ruling party was
routed in 2011 elections as well. Leaders in Finland and Ireland suffered the same fates. And finally Great
Britian’s Gordon Brown was one of the early victims of the financial crisis, falling to current Prime Minister
and conservative, David Cameron.

17. 17
The financial crisis is not the only thing that has caused major leadership changes, the Arab Spring uprising in
many Arab countries has led to the resignation or overthrow of many years’ long dictators. Egypt, Tunisia,
Libya and Yemen have all seen long time leaders go down. Earlier this year, former Libyan dictator
Muammar Gaddafi was captured and killed by rebel forces in his country. And uprisings have occurred in no
less than 10 other Arab countries whose people seek economic freedom from oppressive regimes.
Also there are leadership changes in major economic forces such as Russia, where former president Vladimir
Putin once again became president in 2012 by capturing more than 63% of the vote in a controversial
election. And in China, the presumptive next leader of that nation, current Vice President Xi Jinping recently
made a trip to the United States to meet with President Obama and U.S. business leaders to lay the
groundwork for improved U.S.-China relations. All of these policy and leadership changes in countries
around the world represent very interesting prognostications for our own presidential election.

18. 18
Candidate: President Barack Obama, Democrat
It doesn’t seem like that long ago that the nation was on the verge of a historical political moment with the
election of its first African-American president. Many, including the case writer never thought this moment
would happen in our lifetime. And once the moment had come, even foes of the president-elect had to admit
that indeed times had changed. But then again, that was four years ago and in American politics four years
can seem like an eternity. The financial crisis of 2008 and 2009 has left many, including strong supporters of
the president with doubt as to whether he can finish the job he started. One thing is for sure, the president
will not be able to run on the same platform he ran on in 2008. No longer can he use Hope and Change as a
rallying cry to fire people up. The public has become disillusioned by unemployment, home foreclosures,
rising costs, decreasing salaries, war, lack of healthcare and quality education among a number of other
calamities. It is hard to maintain hope when you haven’t worked in 18 months.
But being clear about one thing is important to keep things in perspective. The president is the captain of the
ship so to speak at the moment, but he didn’t deliver the country to the position it is in solely by his policies
of the last three years. No matter who became president in 2008, this was always going to be a tough election
cycle. People are still trying to grasp that the financial crisis we are still trying to recover from was the worst
since the 1930s. That is several generations ago and we have grown spoiled by our own riches and often
lavish lifestyles. President Obama has always tried to make the case that we were in for a long ride back to
prosperity but people don’t often want to be told what they “need” to hear. We have gotten used and quite
accustomed to accepting being told what we “want” to hear. Obama is a pragmatic type of person. He is
incredibly smart and level-headed and he’s a structured person who listens to advisors and people in general
and doesn’t believe in making snap decisions. The president has signed into law an incredible amount of
important legislation in three years in office, despite spending much of that time fighting a do-nothing
Congress, initially led by fellow Democrats his first two years but now one partially led by the Republicans
since the 2010 elections. The very first Act that he signed into law upon becoming president was the Lily
Ledbetter Act, calling for equal pay for equal work for women. This was an important amendment to the
Civil Rights Act of 1964. President Obama also led the charge to clean up the mess on Wall Street during his
first year in office. The Card Act was signed into law to help protect Americans from big financial services
companies that had gotten out of control with unscrupulous fees, charges and rules that essentially allowed
American family debt to explode over the last twenty years. He also signed the Wall Street Reform and
Consumer Protection Act (known as the Dodd-Frank Act after the two Democratic Congressmen who
authored the bill). This was put in place to protect consumers against the unscrupulous practices that caused
the mortgage fiasco that cost millions of Americans their homes.

19. 19
There was also the near takeover of and then bailout of the American auto industry that all but saved Chrysler
and General Motors. Detroit is making a comeback since Obama took office and the stance he took to help
bail them out is a primary reason for that. This may in the end, become a differentiating factor that could put
Obama over the top in November.
Despite all the above mentioned success, the president’s signature legislation was the signing of the
Affordable Care Act or better known as Healthcare reform. This law is however being threatened to be
overturned by the Supreme Court with a decision coming by the end of the summer. President Obama
accomplished something with this sweeping law that several presidents before him failed to do. Some 30
million new people would now be covered that were not previously. One would think that was a good thing
but this law has become the biggest lightening rod dividing Americans in both parties.
The president also made historical policy changes impacting the gay and lesbian community. He got rid of
the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy of the military that now allows gay service members to openly express their
beliefs without fear of being discharged. And just within the last week before this case went to print, the
president went on public record expressing his belief that gay Americans should have the right to be married.
This game-changing announcement came a day after the state of North Carolina voted to ban gay marriage
and civil unions. This was despite support from former President Clinton and an announcement of support
from Vice President Joe Biden. The historical consideration is that no sitting president had ever taken an
absolute stand in support of gay rights. The president’s announcement of his support is being compared to
President Lyndon Johnson’s announcement of his support for Civil Rights and would eventually lead to his
signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
President Obama’s resume cannot solely be restricted to discussion of his domestic policy. Perhaps the
greatest accomplishment in many people’s eyes was the killing of public enemy number one, Osama bin
Laden under the president’s direction in May of 2011. Obama was able to do what neither Clinton nor Bush
before him could do and that was bringing to justice a mass murderer of thousands of innocent Americans.
Yet a year after that victory against terrorism, the president faces one of the most contentious re-elections in
presidential history. The president still remains very popular around the world and has brought respectability
back to the American brand with friends and foes alike around the world. But the question remains will all of
these factors combine to be enough for the American people to give him a chance to complete a second term
to seal his legacy. With that being said, let’s take a closer look at pros and cons of the Obama candidacy.

20. 20
Pros
 Signed into law Healthcare Reform bringing health coverage to 30+ million additional Americans
 Believed to have saved the American auto industry with the auto bailout
 Believed to have reigned in Wall Street and plugged the whole in the financial bucket
 Killed Osama bin Laden
 Credited for the downfall and eventual killing of Libya’s dictator Muammar Gaddafi
 Signed the Ledbetter Act calling for equal pay for equal work for women
 Signed the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act to protect Americans from greedy
financial companies
 Enacted policies to stem the tide of home foreclosures on millions of Americans
 Enacted policies to allow Americans to re-finance their homes at reasonable rates
 Signed into law reform making it easier for students to pay back student loans
 Started the Race to the Top program providing grants for states trying to enact education reform
 Adopted energy policies to end America’s dependence on foreign oil
 Ended Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell
 Appointed two new justices to the Supreme Court, both women, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan
 Ended the Iraq War and on schedule to end the war in Afghanistan
 Proposes maintaining low taxes for Americans who earn less than $250,000 and raising them on
millionaires and billionaires, along with revising the tax code
 Thought to be one of the smartest and most pragmatic, well thought out presidents in U.S. history
 Likeability: the president known by even his enemies to be a very likeable person
 Great working relationship with many of the most prominent world leaders
 Family man, married to wife Michelle with two children, Sasha and Malia
Cons
 The economy, the economy, the economy!!!
 The monthly jobs report, growth is not large enough or steady enough to kick start the economy
 8.1% national unemployment, no president in the last 50 years has ever won re-election with
unemployment greater than 7.2%
 Having trouble working with Republicans in Congress, causing his agenda to not fully be met
 National healthcare reform law that is his key legislative success is highly unpopular by many
Americans and may be overturned by the Supreme Court
 Squeezed in by Liberals on the left who feel his policies have not been progressive enough and by
Conservatives on the right who feel his policies have been Socialist in nature

21. 21
Candidate: Governor Mitt Romney, Republican
This isn’t the first go around for Mitt Romney running for the White House. His first attempt in 2008 to
represent the Republican Party fell short when he lost the nod to Senator John McCain. But now the former
governor of Massachusetts is back at it again, this time only a few delegates away from claiming the
nomination of his party to go against President Obama in the November election. Mitt Romney served only
one term as the governor of Massachusetts before deciding to not seek re-election to focus on a bid for the
White House in 2008. Prior to being governor, he served as the President of the Organizing Committee for
the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, UT. He is widely credited with saving that Olympics from
financial ruin as planning was heavily in debt and short of revenue until Romney came on board. Those
Olympic Games ended up making $100 million in profit, notwithstanding security costs in the wake of the
September 11 terrorist attacks.
Before the Olympics, Romney made a run to unseat longtime Massachusetts Democratic Senator Ted
Kennedy in 1994 and at that time actually considered himself an Independent before switching to the
Republican Party. Kennedy went on to soundly defeat him 58% to 41% that year.
Much of Gov. Romney’s business success came as a result of his time spent at Bain & Company and a
spinoff of it, Bain Capital. Romney began a consulting career at Boston Consulting Group (BCG) but left to
join Bain founder Bill Bain to do business consulting for major corporations like Monsanto Company. He
was so successful with his turnaround strategies that Bill Bain asked him to lead the development of a spin-
off company that would focus on private equity and venture capital. These are companies that invest in
startup and other companies and/or provide consulting to these companies to deliver turnaround results.
Romney worked at Bain Capital from 1984 to 1999, helping to fund or turnaround many well known
companies. He invested in what was then a startup company named Staples. He went on to even serve on
Staples board of directors. Now Staples is a household name and a very successful company in its own right.
While at Bain Capital, Romney also went on to provide investments to major companies such as Brookstone,
Sports Authority and Domino’s Pizza. Romney was very well known for making deals and bringing big
bucks to Bain all while making nice profits for his clients as well. He eventually returned to the parent
company Bain & Company which was going through its own financial turmoil and led a turnaround effort
there before leading to head up the Salt Lake City Olympics.
Mitt Romney’s success in business has made him a very rich man and this has often dogged him on the
campaign trail as he tries to identify with average Americans who have lost everything during the financial
crisis. It’s very hard to see the point of view of a laid off blue collar worker from a defunct auto plant when
you have a net worth of upwards to a quarter of a billion dollars. That being said, if elected, Mr. Romney
would be one of the richest presidents in history of our nation. His wealth and his being out of touch has

22. 22
been the topic of much discussion even from members of his own party. On many occasions on the
campaign trail, he has come across as arrogant and out of touch like when he said his wife drives two
Cadillacs. He also drew criticism for saying how he is friends with many billionaire sports franchise owners.
It is simply not good policy in an election year to talk above a citizenry that is struggling to make ends meet
themselves. Gov. Romney’s entire campaign itself is a quagmire for people on both sides of the aisle to try to
figure out. In some circles the thought is that given the stagnant recovery of the economy that he is the
perfect person to challenge the president, given his turnaround expertise. But in other circles, especially
within the Republican Party itself he is thought of as being too moderate and not having conservative enough
credentials to lead the party and the nation. Democrats and the media like to portray him as a “flip-flopper”,
one who changes their mind with the wind. His past has given them too much evidence to support this
notion. He was Independent and then switched to the Republican Party. He was ‘for’ abortion and now he
is ‘against’ it. One of the toughest challenges facing him now is he was initially against the bailout for Detroit
and the American auto industry. He even penned an Op Ed piece for the Washington Post saying that the
government should simply let Detroit go bankrupt. Well now that the auto industry has down a complete
turnaround the last three years and finally making profits again, Romney is once again walking a tightrope
making claims that he could have made this happen too. This about face is so disturbing to many that he
more than likely will not win his home state of Michigan in the general election; a state that his father was
once governor of.
Another important issue the Romney campaign was conquer is igniting the base of the Republican party,
which has moved so far to the right on the political spectrum that it is hard to imagine even a moderate-esque
Republican like Ronald Reagan being successful today in that party. Romney’s job is two-fold actually in that
he has to excite his base by swinging farther right than he would like to, to win them over. Then he has to
swing back to the center to capture the growing Independent vote. A brutal Republican primary season
forced him to swing so far right that it has provided much material for President Obama and the Democrats
to not paint him as a flip-flopper but also as too conservative to lead the nation. Romney’s problems six
months from election day don’t just end with trying to convince his own base that he is their man, he has an
even more daunting task to win over women and Hispanics. Obama has a 10 to 15 point lead in many polls
with women and the best Romney has been able to do at this point is invoke his wife Ann as his ‘expert’ on
issues important to women. It is still too early to determine if that is a play that will woo women toward his
candidacy. With Hispanics, his strategy and that of the Republican brand as a whole is even worse. Their
stand on immigration and topics important to Hispanics in America have left them out in the cold with trying
to convince the fastest growing segment of the U.S. population to support their policies. Not only that, many
of this years’ swing states have high and growing Hispanic populations, including Florida, Colorado, New
Mexico and Arizona. Now let’s take a look at the pros and cons of the Romney candidacy.

23. 23
Pros
 Known to be a turnaround expert from his time spent at Bain & Company, Bain Capital and the Salt
Lake City Winter Olympics Committee
 Highly structured and data driven person who is used to analyzing problems
 Pro-business, highly respected by business community from time in consulting and private equity
 Proposes cutting the corporate tax rate to 25% to spur growth and business development
 More of a moderate Republican who might be able to get something accomplished in a heavily
partisan Washington environment
 Has yet to pick a running mate as he has not officially been named the nominee, this pick like
McCain’s in 2008 (for the negative) could be a game changer
 Eliminated a $1.5 billion dollar budget deficit while governor of Massachusetts
 Is taking advantage of the anti-Obama sentiment that many people have and is using it to his full
advantage
 Family man, married to wife Ann with five boys Taggart, Matthew, Joshua, Benjamin and Craig
 Known to be a very nice guy and very personable man
Cons
 Known to be a flip-flopper in addition to telling people what they want to hear or saying
things that suit him for the occasion
 Is having trouble selling his message to his conservative base within the Republican party
 Lot of dirty laundry aired on him due to a hard fought Republican nomination process and he still
only received reluctant support or endorsements from his much more conservative opponents
 Too rich for the American people to stomach at a time when people are struggling to get by
 Only paid 14% tax rate on his 2010 income, filed for an extension in filing his 2011 tax returns, many
believe he is attempting to wait until after the election to file
 Widely criticized for having much of his wealth being shielded from U.S. taxes by being placed in
accounts overseas in Switzerland and the Caymans
 Thought of as out of touch with the average American, owns at least 3 homes and multiple cars
 Women do not like him very much at all and he struggles to identify with their issues. His talk of
ending Planned Parenthood funding doesn’t help matters
 Building a rapport with Hispanics who are expected to be a critical block in this election
 Plans to significantly cut spending of many popular social programs
 Hard to separate himself from Obama on healthcare as he passed similar legislation while governor
of Massachusetts

24. 24
How the Electoral College Works
Once again the media and the pundits from both sides of the political spectrum will go through the slow and
painful process of explaining to the American people just exactly how the president is elected. Yes we as
citizens do go out and make our vote count, but just because one wins the most votes, called the popular
vote, doesn’t necessarily mean that person will become president. Ask Al Gore, circa 2000. Gore had the
most votes nationally, 51 million to 50.5 million for George W. Bush. That is 500,000+ more votes than
Bush and yet he lost the election due to losing what is called the Electoral College. This ‘college’ is not an
actual college nor does it have anything to do with a university. The ‘electors’ are people who are designated
within each state to elect the president and vice president. They are bound by law to vote for the candidate
that wins the popular vote in their state in a “winner take all” formula. The Electoral College representatives
get together within their respective states to make this vote official in December, well after the presidential
election has taken place. But again, it’s not like they can change their mind or the outcome of the general
election held weeks prior. They are bound by the Constitution to vote a certain way. If a candidate wins a
state’s popular vote he or she will get ALL electoral votes for that state. There are however two states that
have an exception to this rule, Nebraska and Maine. These two states do not employ the winner take all
approach but instead use a “Congressional District” method. These two states still have their respective
number of total electoral votes, ME (4) and NE (5). But it is conceivable that these states votes can be split
as was the case in Nebraska in 2008 when McCain won the state receiving 4 electoral votes, but Obama won
the district surrounding Omaha and picked up 1 electoral vote.
To win the presidency, a candidate must win 270 Electoral College votes. For the 50 states plus Washington,
DC, there are a total of 538 electoral votes. This size of the Electoral College is equal to the size of
representatives in Congress (435 for the House of Representatives and 100 for the Senate) plus 3 additional
votes for the District of Columbia. Each state’s electoral votes are equal to its number of House
representatives plus Senators. Since Washington, D.C. is not a state, it is assigned 3 electoral votes. The
reason D.C. has only three is that it cannot have more than the least populous state, which at present is
Wyoming. Each state automatically has two U.S. Senators, and Wyoming’s population is so small that it only
has one House of Representatives member, for a total of 3 Congressmen.
Election Day is always the first Tuesday in November every four years. The even number of eligible electoral
votes (538) could potentially set up a tie of 269-269. Under this scenario, the presidency would be decided by
a vote in the newly-elected United States House of Representatives, which is sworn in January 1st after the
election. This has only happened twice in history, in 1801 and 1825. Also in case of a tie, the newly elected
United States Senate would be tasked with choosing the vice president. This has only happened once, in
1837.

25. 25
There has been much discussion about getting rid of the electoral college entirely. This was at a fever pitch in
2000 after it took the United States Supreme Court to decide to stop counting disputed ballots in Florida that
had they continued doing so, the course of history might very well have changed. It is hard for Americans to
understand how the process works and when all of the idiosyncrasies are added in such as the tie break
scenarios or the fact that two states do it entirely differently, and the fact that this only happens every four
years to begin with—it’s no wonder we always have to have some television pundit explain it to us.
Another highly charged issue with the Electoral College is rooted in the U.S. Census. We count the number
of people living in each state every ten years in years ending in zero. As a result of the 2010 census, the
country displayed a major population shift away from heavily populated states in the Northeast and Midwest
for the Southeast and Southwest. This caused those northern states to lose representatives while the southern
states gained representatives. The two figures below show how the electoral votes for the 2012 election have
changed as a result of the 2010 census. Figure 4 shows the electoral college map for 2012, 2016 and 2020.
This will be revised again for the 2024 election based on the 2020 census. Figure 5 shows what the map
looked like in 2008. Notice how IA, MO, IL, MI, OH, PA, NY, MA and LA all lost votes whereas WA, NV,
UT, AZ, TX, SC, GA and FL all gained votes. This will have an impact on this and future elections.
Figure 4: 2012 Electoral College Map
Figure 5: 2008 Electoral College Map

26. 26
Presidential Election History
There have been some rather exciting presidential elections in U.S. history, none more so than those here in
the early part of the 21st century. We have seen the first black president elected. There has been a woman on
the ticket of one of the two major political parties. We have had the Supreme Court get involved to
essentially decide a presidential election. In that same election we have seen the person who won the most
total votes in the country—lose the election. We have seen a decorated Vietnam War veteran’s service
literally called into question by a “swift boat” campaign that led to his defeat. And we have seen one of the
more intellectually challenged presidents in history win a second term. And that’s all since 2000. In this
election, President Obama is trying to become only the second Democrat to win re-election in 68 years.
Other than President Bill Clinton, the last Democrat to win re-election was FDR who won four elections.
Table 2 below shows the results of every presidential election since 1924. It shows the candidates and
political party, number of electoral votes received and popular vote received.
Table 2: Chart of Election Results 1924-2008
Electoral Popular
Year Presidential Candidates Political Party Votes Votes Vice Presidential Candidates

27. 27
Epilogue
There are so many questions to answer in this election. It is still hard to figure out which way it will turn.
Does the economy turnaround to give the president an assist? Does Mitt Romney finally break through with
women and Hispanics? Will the upcoming decisions by the Supreme Court on immigration and healthcare
cases fire up one or both of the bases of each party? Who will Gov. Romney choose as his running mate and
will that person be from a swing state? Also, what will be the impact of Super PACs (Political Action
Committees)? This will be the first election where they even exist after yet another Supreme Court decision
that allowed anyone to give any amount of money to support a political candidate. These PACs are special
interests who are not ‘technically’ affiliated with the candidate but who quite obviously donate any amount
they choose to support that candidate’s campaign. Gov. Romney has raised millions upon millions from the
anti-Obama Super PACs supporting him. This money typically comes from millionaires or billionaires who
are doing everything in their power and supposedly within the law to influence the American public. It will
be important for each candidate to get their message out to the American public. It will be very interesting to
see what happens with each party’s national convention. The Republicans hold their convention in August in
Tampa, Florida. Two weeks later, the Democrats hold their convention in Charlotte, NC. Finally, the impact
of the swing states will be HUGE. It is very well known that this election will be decided by the results of 10
or so states? See Figure 6 for a view of the electoral map as of May according to RealClearPolitics.com
Swing states are shown in gray. This election “will” be won by the outcome of these states whether anyone
wants to believe it or not, any political pundit will say this is the state of American politics in 2012.
.Figure 6: Electoral Map as of May, 2012

28. 28
Case Questions
The following are a few questions your team needs to take into consideration when analyzing the case.
During your presentation you will be judged on how well you grasp the material presented plus how creative
you are in thinking outside the box without rehashing the details of the case. You have to present your own
ideas in a thought-provoking manner. You don’t have to present answers to every single question, but you
want to choose which questions help your team to come to the conclusion that allows you to present your
interpretation of the case in the best way possible. Remember there is NO right or wrong answer unless you
don’t try. Questions that your team needs to consider in your analysis include the following:
1. Present a case for what you think should be or will be President Obama’s strategy for winning the
election. As part of your analysis, demonstrate what President Obama’s final electoral map totals will
be.
2. Present a case for what you think should be or will be Governor Mitt Romney’s strategy for winning
the election. As part of your analysis, demonstrate what Governor Romney’s final electoral map
totals will be.
3. Present a case that discusses the following two critically important issues facing both candidates in
this election:
a. The U.S. economy and jobs or lack of jobs for the millions of unemployed
b. The world economy, in particular the troubles in the EU
4. Discuss the election from a financial aspect from both campaigns, consider the following:
a. Money raised by the candidates’ campaigns
b. Money raised by their respective political parties
c. The impact of Super PACs on the 2012 election
5. What role will technology and social media play in the 2012 election?
6. In your team’s opinion, what will the world, and the U.S. in particular look like on January 20, 2013?
This is Inauguration Day whether there is a re-elected person or a newly elected person.
7. What role will young people like yourself play in this election, especially given there are so many of
them unemployed and/or having so much trouble paying for the high cost of college?

29. 29
Case Competition Instructions
1. Take a few minutes to read over the case individually then begin discussing as a team. Think
“outside the box” as presidential elections are never what they seem to appear on the surface. This is
your chance as young people to fully and completely understand how the political process works in
our country and the impact you can have on that process. And again, there is truly no right or wrong
answer—it’s how your team interprets the case.
2. Be sure to consider the case questions at the end of the case to support your team’s theories on how
this election will turn out.
3. This part is very important. Your team can choose which of the case questions to answer and you do
not have to answer ALL of them, nor are you expected to but you absolutely “must” incorporate
Questions 4 and 7 in your final presentation or PowerPoint submission or in both. Beyond that, you
can choose to take any position on either of those questions or any of the other ones.
4. Choose a format to present your case. Your team can choose any format including video, debate,
skit, surveys, on-stage props, sitcom, serious analysis, audience discussion, etc. Whatever you feel is
appropriate to get your team’s point across as long as you adhere to the case competition protocols.
5. Be sure to cite your sources of research no matter what format your team chooses to present in.
This will be very important in your score.
6. Also, you need to have a page on screen or verbal announcement or something introducing your
team and the members of the team who are presenting to the audience. Also, prepare and submit a
PowerPoint presentation the day of the competition. This can be any number of pages your team
chooses.
7. Each of the eight teams will present their case in a maximum of 15 minutes each. You can present in
less than 15 minutes with no penalty but if you go over 15 minutes you will be penalized 5 points for
each minute over.
8. Prizes will be awarded to the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place teams to be announced during the graduation
ceremony on June 22nd. However, each team will receive feedback on their performance.