No More Excuses: The Democrats' Mandate

"[Obama] neither received a broad mandate from the public nor the needed large congressional majorities." -- Columnist Robert Novak, on President-elect Barack Obama's 7.5 million popular vote margin win, 11/05/08

VERSUS

Q: Bob Novak, is 51 percent of the vote really a mandate? NOVAK: Of course it is. It's a 3.5 million vote margin. -- Novak, on President Bush's 2004 re-election, 11/06/04

[Thanks to the Progress Report for catching this.]

Both of George W. Bush's election "victories" were dubious, heavily protested, and legally questionable. Yet somehow this was a mandate for the Republicans. They moved forward with no regard for the Democrats and with no regard for the best interests of the country. They ran up deficits, entered us into an unnecessary war, and diminished our standing in the world.

Obama won by a landslide with almost 8 million more popular votes and now all we hear from the right-wing and the punditry is how Obama must reach out, must be bipartisan, must work with the Republicans, etc.

This election was a total repudiation of Republican policy. This was the American people giving power to the Democrats to take this nation in a new direction.

Obama is going to do what he sees as right for the majority of citizens of this country. Republican trickle-down economics – gone! Your wedge issues – gone! Pretty much anything coming out of your mouths – gone! Sit back and enjoy; just stay out of the way. Watch how governance is supposed to be done. I would say they might learn something, but we know that just doesn’t happen with Republicans.