BURLINGTON, Vt. -
After a nail biting night of returns, President Barack Obama won the country's blessings for a second term. It was a victory that has many Vermonters breathing a sigh of relief.
"I don't know, something about Mitt Romney I wasn't sure of," said Jeanette Hunter of Berlin. "There was a lack of trust there."
"I'm excited," said Sherry Sica of Burlington. "I'm glad Obama won again."
In Vermont it wasn't much of a contest. Obama easily won the state's three electoral votes with 67 percent of Vermonters backing him at the polls.
"I'm relieved that it's over and I'm not too surprised about how it turned out," said Priscilla Paquette of Colchester.
"I so wish that I had been able to fulfill your hopes to lead the country in a different direction, but the nation chose another leader," Republican candidate Mitt Romney said in his concession speech.
Romney's concession came as a crushing blow to the 31 percent of Vermont voters pulling for him despite the odds.
"I was very surprised Obama did as well as he did," said Jody Plouffe of Essex.
"I was a little disappointed," said Tyler Hart of South Burlington. "I foresaw this. I went to bed early, I got up early this morning and turned it on and saw what I didn't want to see."
But what has both sides worried is four more years of bipartisan bickering in Washington. Obama's re-election means he'll face the same divisions with a Republican-controlled House and a Senate run by Democrats. But he vowed to change that this time around.
"I am looking forward to reaching out and working with leaders of both parties to meet the challenges we can only solve together," the president said in his victory speech.
"You can't change things over four years, it's going to take awhile. And I think he's on the right track," said Bob Lepage of Jeffersonville.
Obama's supporters are taking a cautiously optimistic approach, hoping their patience will pay off.
