Following a grueling campaign, Barack Obama won a second term in the world's most high-profile office Nov. 6. His re-election raises questions about how he will govern and the future of the Republican Party, which failed to capture the White House for the second consecutive election.

A panel of Cornell faculty experts on American politics met in Ives Hall Nov. 7 to weigh in on the implications of Election Day. They were divided about the historical performance of second-term presidents.

Richard Booth, a professor of city and regional planning, said: "The history of presidents in second terms has not been a hopeful one." The knowledge that the president's time is finite, Booth asserted, hampers lawmakers' willingness to compromise on polarizing issues.

Professor of Government M. Elizabeth Sanders said that second-term presidents "get cut loose." Knowing that he does not face any future elections may allow Obama to move farther to the left, a prediction Sanders supported by citing Democratic gains in the Senate.

Fredrik Logevall, professor of history, suggested Obama's freedom from future elections may affect his administration's stance on foreign policy. Logevall said that American foreign policy may change more in Obama's second term and he believes, for instance, that Obama may end the trade embargo against Cuba.

A prominent theme of the discussion was the country's changing demographics and its growing Latino population.

Glenn Altschuler, professor of American Studies, noted that these changes in demographics could make immigration reform a priority for Obama's second term. Altschuler said Obama has an opportunity to secure the Latino vote for the Democratic Party for years to come with a comprehensive immigration reform.

Logevall suggested that the Democratic Party's popularity with black, Asian, Latino and young voters may lead the Republican Party to change their positions on some divisive issues.

Said Altschuler: "The challenge for the Republican Party in the years to come is whether it becomes the party of Paul Ryan, an evangelical Catholic, or the party of Jeb Bush, who has a Latino wife and is the kind of moderate who used to constitute a significant component of the Republican Party." Altschuler predicted that the immediate response to Romney's loss will be movement to the right.

By Election Day, each side raised more than one billion dollars, which the panelists found troubling.

Booth expressed certainty that no extensive campaign finance reform will occur in the next four years, as neither party has an incentive to change the current system. Sanders argued that the Democratic Party supports campaign finance reform and would welcome legislative change, but she noted that Obama may have compromised his ability to lead campaign finance reform by his decision to forego public funding and raise funds from private donors.

Cornell in Washington organized the panel.

Sam Wolken '14 is a student writer intern for the Cornell Chronicle.