Pictures of the Day: Egypt and Elsewhere

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Photos from Egypt, Spain, Kenya and South Africa

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In Campaign\'s Aftermath, Peering Into the \'Smoke-Filled Rooms\'

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After a seeming eternity of ads and obfuscation, ripostes and rivalry, Americans re-elected Barack Obama to the presidency. There was hardly a moment left to celebrate. While Republicans began a period of soul-searching, President Obama turned his attention to the approaching fiscal crisis, the so-called cliff.

In the ninth and final installment of his “Smoke-Filled Rooms” series, Stephen Crowley documents the campaign's aftermath. Striving to see beyond the spin and stagecraft of the contemporary American political process, Mr. Crowley's unorthodox presentation of words and pictures examines the forces that influence presidential politics.

A full version is now downloadable as a PDF.

Previous installments can be viewed here: Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 and 8.
Follow @nytimesphoto and @Stcrow on Twitter.