Wanted: a president to put can-do spirit back in the USThere have been lower and meaner presidential election campaigns: Richard Nixon’s “amnesty, abortion and acid” jibe against George McGovern in 1972 comes to mind. Even so, this was a gruelling and ill-tempered contest. Yesterday, however, under clear blue skies in the nation’s capital, voters finally had their chance to speak.

The victor in the 2012 election faces an immediate test of leadership, not merely to overcome the divisions between Democrats and Republicans that have largely paralysed Washington. The greater challenge is how to rekindle a spirit of can-do optimism in a nation beaten down by the global financial crisis.

“What America needs right now is confidence,” says a Wall Street chief executive. “All the ingredients are in place for a recovery but we need predictability and strong executive leadership.”