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by Ray Fleming

“ Too close to call” seemed to be an overworked phrase during the later stages of the American presidential election but it happened to be right almost to the last minute.

The paper thin majorities in key states which returned Barack Obama to the White House might have been Mitt Romney's if his style had been more consistent, his policies more specific and his persona less chameleonic.

After a disciplined and even low key performance for much of his campaign President Obama allowed the rhetoric to flow again in his victory speech and identified the result as answering the question, “What kind of a country do we want to be?” Mitt Romney made a decent speech accepting defeat but the real feelings of outrage in the Republican party were displayed by Karl Rove, George W Bush's campaign adviser in two elections, who lost his cool live on Fox News by insisting that the channel was wrong to call Ohio for the Democrats, and thus the presidency for Obama. it was a disturbing but revealing sight.

Donald Trump's Twitter tirade calling for Republicans to “rise up and start a revolution” should perhaps not be taken too seriously but, again, it showed how many Republicans feel that their right to rule has been seriously questioned and that they may have to reform from top to bottom before they can return to the White House.