ANALYSIS: A Second Chance For Obama

Nov. 7, 2012 -- ABC's AMY WALTER: With election losses come soul searching. Republicans have to learn to accept the new demographic reality, one in which they can no longer ignore or antagonize the fast-growing and politically potent Latino population. Priority number one for Republicans next year should be to build a bipartisan deal on immigration reform that will put the GOP on the right side of this demographic divide. Paging Marco Rubio.

ABC's MICHAEL FALCONE: President Obama had it right when he reportedly congratulated Mitt Romney last night on a "well-fought" campaign. From the moment he jumped into the presidential race at a New Hampshire farm in June 2011, he seemed to be destined to be this year's Republican standard-bearer.

But it wasn't easy: He first had to fend of challenges from a slew of insurgents within his own party with names like Gingrich, Perry and Santorum. After dispatching them, months of general election combat with the president followed. Romney started behind, but made up ground on questions of trust to handle the economy, empathy and enthusiasm. But it wasn't until late in the game -- too late, as we learned last night -- that GOP voters started to come around to Romney for who he was rather than who he wasn't.

ABC's RICK KLEIN: Demography and strategy converged in near-perfect fashion for President Obama, the Democratic Party's reliable base uniting with a new face of America -- helped along by an avalanche of well-timed attacks. That magic formula allowed a president with significant weaknesses to power past them, while shattering the Republican way of winning elections, probably for a long time. It's a toolbox, though, that isn't available to Obama again -- it wins races, but it doesn't help in governing, at least not yet. That's where the president can display what he spoke of as he started his next four years -- that he has learned, that he can govern in a way that begins to deliver on his promise.

Get more pure politics at ABCNews.com/Politics and a lighter take on the news at OTUSNews.com

ABC's MATTHEW DOWD: "The race for 2016 starts the day after election day. Both parties are going to be searching for their new leaders. A huge question for Democrats is, 'What does Hillary Clinton do?' Based on that decision, the race could go many ways. Besides Clinton, Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, who is a popular but unknown figure in the party, is considering. Joe Biden, who seems to be intimating he will run, is on the shortlist, but the question becomes whether that is too status quo.

Antonio Villaraigosa, the mayor of Los Angeles, is on the list, and has tremendous support in the Latino community. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York would be a formidable figure if Clinton doesn't run. She is popular in a big state and a woman candidate is important, because 60 percent of Democratic primary voters are female. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has been rumored to want to run and comes from a key state with access to party faithful and money. There's also the chance of an unknown candidate who may emerge in the aftermath of this year's election."