The good news this week was that Obama has won a second term in office.  The election was predicted as being too close to call right up until Tuesday, but in the end Obama won the electoral vote comfortably.

The tone of this election was bleak, with both sides engaging in some rather underhand tactics, but the thought of a Romney presidency was just too much for most Americans in the end.  Looking at the coverage over here of American politics, you could easily believe that a large proportion of Americans are right-wing religious zealots, but, though they do have their fair share of such people, it would seem that America is actually quite a liberal place.

Three states, Maine, Maryland and Washington, have all voted to legalise same sex marriages.  This brings the total up to nine now in the U.S.

But all the pundits are saying that women, and in particular single women, were the deciding factor in this election.  The finding might seem unsurprising after a campaign season punctuated by offensive and biologically illiterate statements from Republican candidates about rape and pregnancy.

But pollsters said the newly identified electoral bloc of unmarried women voted for Obama for bringing the country through the recession – with the Democrats’ support for healthcare and equal pay.  Obama obliterated Romney when it came to the battle for the votes of unmarried women, beating him by 36 points.

It’s not difficult to see why this is happening, especially when Romney made his now infamous “47%” speech, where he said it was not his job to worry about people who made need help from the government.  I think the republicans need to think very carefully about how they come across to female voters.  This election has shown that telling women what they can and can’t do with their bodies and denying them access to much needed welfare is a sure fire way to lose their support.