Did Obama win, or did Romney lose?

[Starbucks Union Thug HokeyPuck]

Obama won.  Reelection campaigns are a referendum on the incumbent.  Romney certainly made himself more of a story, more entrenched in the American psyche than a Dole or a Kerry did.  In the end, though, I think the prevailing attitude was that the country had been through a rough time, but was getting better, and Obama's simple message of "Forward" was able to resonate.  Simply put, I think enough Americans liked Obama and trusted him enough to give him enough 4 years in office. 

Remember, Romney gained quite a bit of momentum after the first debate, but was never really able to crack the amount of voters in the middle that he needed to win.  By the last weekend, undecideds had broken heavily for Obama. 

Oh, have I mentioned the Obama ground game and campaign strategy?  They never even left the 2008 battlegrounds like PA, OH, and VA.  The states where Obama didn't really bother, like in the South, Appalachia, and the Great Plains, he lost and he lost badly.  You would figure the candidate that comfortably wins nationally would have come pretty close in quite a few of the states his opponent won. 

1996: Clinton came very close in VA, NC, GA, SD, MT, and CO
2004: Bush came very close in PA, NH, WI, MN, MI, and OR

In 2012, Obama wasn't even close in any Romney state besides the only one he spent any amount of time in, NC.

The Obama campaign was obviously very strategic and he was able to secure his victory margin in the battlegrounds that he targeted.

Romney is an awkward ass-clown... but 2012 was an Obama win.