United States

As the economy continued to struggle and as high levels of unemployment and underemployment persisted, much of the American electorate was commonly characterized as angry. The groundswell of opposition to the policies of the Obama administration and to “big government” that had given birth to the Tea Party movement took on an anti-Washington, anti-incumbent cast. This had an impact not only on Democrats but on Republicans too, as a raft of conservative candidates with Tea Party associations triumphed over candidates favoured by the Republican Party establishment in primary contests for the November 2010 midterm congressional election. In the 2010 general election, however, Tea Party candidates had mixed success, but the Republican Party as a whole experienced a dramatic resurgence, recapturing leadership of the House with a gain of some 60 seats (the biggest swing since 1948) and reducing but not overturning the Democrats’ Senate majority.

The weekend before voters went to the polls, the election had been replaced in the headlines by the foiling of another terrorist bombing attempt, this time involving explosive devices that were intercepted en route via air from Yemen to two Chicago-area synagogues. It was believed that the devices may have been intended to explode while still in flight.

WikiLeaks, the “Afghan War Diary,” and the “Iraq War Log”

Later in November 2010, the administration was stung by the third major release that year of classified documents by the Web site WikiLeaks. In July and October several periodicals, including The New York Times, Der Spiegel, and The Guardian, had published secret documents related to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, collectively known as the “Afghan War Diary” and the “Iraq War Log,” respectively. In both cases, the material was mainly in the form of raw intelligence gathered between 2004 and 2009. In general, the information added detail but few new revelations to what was already known and did not radically change the public understanding of either war. Nevertheless, the Obama administration condemned its release as a security breach that would set back U.S. efforts in the region and endanger the lives of military personnel and the lives of Iraqis and Afghans who had cooperated with the U.S. military. The administration was also quick to criticize WikiLeaks’ November release of documents, this time comprising some 250,000 diplomatic cables between the U.S. State Department and its embassies and consulates throughout the world, dating mostly from 2007 to 2010 but including some dating back as far as 1966. Among the wide-ranging topics covered in these secret documents were behind-the-scenes U.S. efforts to politically and economically isolate Iran, primarily in response to fears of Iran’s development of nuclear weapons—fears that were revealed to encompass Saudi Arabia’s and Bahrain’s emphatic opposition to a nuclear-armed Iran.

WikiLeaks; Assange, JulianWikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at a press conference, 2010.Andrew Winning—Reuters/Landov

The repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the ratification of START, and the shooting of Gabrielle Giffords

Against this backdrop, the lame-duck Congress looked ready to move toward the end of its session with legislative gridlock firmly in place. However, the Obama administration and the Republicans were able to forge compromises on several significant pieces of legislation. When the administration proposed extending the Bush tax cuts for another two years, Republicans responded by supporting an extension of unemployment benefits. Several Senate Republicans also joined Democrats to enable the repeal of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy that had prohibited gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military, and legislation was enacted that extended medical benefits to first responders to the September 11 attacks. The Senate also ratified a new Strategic Arms Reduction Talks (START) treaty with Russia, capping what was one of the most productive legislative periods in recent memory and in the process helping boost Obama’s popularity. When a gunman killed six people and critically wounded Gabrielle Giffords, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, as she met with constituents in Tucson, Arizona, on January 8, 2011, however, there was a renewed national discussion about the vehemence of political polarization in the United States.

U.S. President Barack Obama signing the repeal of “Don't Ask, Don't Tell,” December 22, 2010.Chuck Kennedy—Official White House Photo

Budget compromise