Barack Obama

WIth the close of election season, the Solutions column returns to the business of identifying ways to rein in defense spending.

Last night, after months of asking the American people to make a choice, Obama was reelected, proving that citizens want a new agenda.

Investigative reporter Jeremy Scahill asks Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich about the secret drone war that has expanded under President Obama's first term and the killing of Anwar al-Awlaki.

To take swing states, Obama had to win blue-collar votes. He did it by painting his opponent a remote rich guy, and Romney helped.

By many standards, Obama has done a remarkable job, but he has fought against a powerful dynamic of modern US politics: a hatred of the federal government.

Obama's victory was a triumph over a policy of obstruction from the Republican Party that continued throughout his first term.

All we won on Tuesday night was the outside chance of not losing. What is made of that very slim margin is entirely up to you.

As Al Gore might say, the earth is in the balance.

BuzzFlash at Truthout Editor Mark Karlin and William Rivers Pitt blog the election.

On the News With Thom Hartmann