Four. More. Years.

Official photographic portrait of US President Barack Obama (born 4 August 1961; assumed office 20 January 2009) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Despite lingering doubts over whether President Barack Obama could really improve the economy when he's had the past four years to do so, the voters gave him a second chance Tuesday, defeating Republican Mitt Romney.

The only surprise was that this supposedly close election ended as quickly as it did, with the networks declaring Obama the winner as soon as the results from Ohio were known, with some of the votes in the swing states still being counted.  To date, Florida has yet to finish its vote totals.  Not that it mattered.

The margin of victory for the President was smaller than it was in 2008, when he defeated John McCain.  It was not as historically significant as it was back then.  But a win's a win, right?

Romney lost because the Democrats successfully painted him as an out-of-touch business executive, fronting for what is now an extremist Republican party.  That, and the GOP's failure to make its message more palatable beyond an overwhelmingly white (and male) constituency.

Romney becomes the third Massachusetts-based politician in the last 25 years to lose a presidential election, joining Democrats Michael Dukakis in 1988 and John Kerry in 2004.  The latter two lost to members of the Bush family.  For Romney, it was different party, same result.

For all the talk about change in Washington, the cast of characters remains the same.  Besides Obama, Congress will once again be presided over by Democrats in the Senate and Republicans in the House.  Be prepared for more gridlock.

Before Obama's second inauguration, he and Congress must come up with a federal budget deal that would keep the government solvent and not lose any more points in its bond rating.  If they don't, they risk putting the economy into another recession by sending it over the "fiscal cliff", sparking automatic tax hikes and spending cuts.

Then there's the ongoing problems of immigration reform, Syria's civil war, Europe's debt crisis, Iran's nuclear program, China, Afghanistan, and any vacancies that might come up in the Supreme Court.  So no matter who was elected, that person would have his hands full over the next four years.

They say that a President's second term is never as good as the first, because something always comes along to ruin his reputation.  For Richard Nixon, it was Watergate.  For Ronald Reagan, it was Iran-Contra.  For Bill Clinton, it was Monica Lewinsky.  For George W. Bush, it was . . . everything.  President Obama has had a so-so four years, so one has to wonder if the next four will see any kind of improvement for him and for the country.  Or will he go the way of the above-mentioned Presidents?

So that's it for the 2012 presidential campaign.  Hope you've enjoyed it, because the 2016 campaign should begin shortly.