By Brai Odion-Esene

WASHINGTON (MNI) – As he basked in the glow of his second presidential
election victory late Tuesday night, President Barack Obama vowed to get working
on the main challenges facing the country, singling out the nation’s massive
deficits and unwieldy tax code.

“For the United States of America, the best is yet to come,” Obama
said in victory speech before a crowd of supporters in Chicago. “I
return to the White House more determined and more inspired than ever
about the work there is to do.”

“And in the coming weeks and months I am looking forward to
reaching out and working with leaders of both parties to meet the
challenges we can only solve together,” he said.

These include; reducing the nation’s deficit, reforming the tax
code, tackling the immigration system and getting the country off its
dependence on foreign oil, he said.

“Our economy is recovering,” he said, adding “we’ve got more work
to do.”

Obama acknowledged that there will be disagreement — “sometimes
fiercely” — over what approach to take.

“As it has been for more than two centuries, progress will come in
fits and starts,” he warned, “it’s not always a smooth path.”

Sharing common hopes and dreams will not end all the gridlock on Capitol
Hill or substitute for the need to build a consensus among lawmakers — and make
the difficult compromises needed to move the country forward, Obama said.

“But that common bond is where we must begin,” he said.

In weeks ahead, Obama said he also looks forward to sitting down
with defeated Republican challenger Mitt Romney and discussing ways to
move the country forward.

Romney warned in his concession speech that America is at a critical point,
“and at a time like this we can’t risk partisan bickering and political
posturing.”

“Our leaders have to reach across the aisle to do the people’s
work,” Romney urged.

Obama said the country needs to go forward. “We want our children
to live in an America that isn’t burdened by debt,” he said.

And despite the frustrations about the intransigence in Washington,
Obama said he has never been “more hopeful” about the future of the
country.

“We are not as divided as our politics suggest,” Obama declared.
“We remain more than a collection of red states and blue states.”

** MNI Washington Bureau: 202-371-2121 **

–email: besene@mni-news.com

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