Mandate

[miyamoto]

Excuse my political ignorance, but how is winning the popular vote by a margin of about 3% translate into a mandate for Bush?

It's even more confusing when one realizes that US population is roughly 294,688,125 and Bush recieved roughly 59 million vs. Kerry's 55 million.

That leaves more than half the US not giving an opinion on the election...

[Maeve_Mari]

Excuse my political ignorance, but how is winning the popular vote by a margin of about 3% translate into a mandate for Bush?

It's even more confusing when one realizes that US population is roughly 294,688,125 and Bush recieved roughly 59 million vs. Kerry's 55 million.

That leaves more than half the US not giving an opinion on the election...

And another half of that not casting a vote for him either! Seems to me hardly a mandate or a trust and confidence. But, who are we to argue with the truth the media tells us!

[keith]

mandata schmandate,

there is no such thing, never has been, and never will be unless voting is compulsory.

after all it is reasonable to suppose that the 40% odd who didn't vote were perfectly happy with whoever ran the country.

[mrbiggs]

Excuse my political ignorance, but how is winning the popular vote by a margin of about 3% translate into a mandate for Bush?

It's even more confusing when one realizes that US population is roughly 294,688,125 and Bush recieved roughly 59 million vs. Kerry's 55 million.

That leaves more than half the US not giving an opinion on the election...

Bush won, which means that he is Eternal King of the American Empire. You're just a sore loser.

[pkt]

i guess W is seizing the 'fact' that he 'received most popular votes of any presidents'. The fact that the population grew, the fact that he beat Kerry by 3 million votes out of 120 million - we don't even want to mention the electoral college votes - are immaterial.

Typical of W to disregard that truth that he doesn't agree with. Afterall, he talks to Him every day with his prayers and supposedly gets directions from Him. Since He is infallible, therefore, W, by extension, is infallible.

PK

[Inquartata]

Of course there is nothing of the propoertions of a "mandate". Which does not mean that had events gone the other way Kerry would not now be claiming precisely the same thing. That's the way politicians are. Believing that only the Evil W would behave in such a fashion may be comforting, but it is wide of the mark.

[Rogue]

Did Bill Clinton have less of a mandate, or no mandate because he never got more than 49% of the popular vote?

[jeff]

Good point, Rogue, and much commented on at the time - how dare he claim to have a mandate without the votes, and push his agenda based on that. Now, let's apply that at least to GWB's first term....

[mrbiggs]

Did Bill Clinton have less of a mandate, or no mandate because he never got more than 49% of the popular vote?

But important to note that Clinton did win the popular vote; but the statistics were disrupted by Perot. Bush, meanwhile, did not win the popular vote the first time.

[keith]

but what are the republicans going to do with their mandate?

I would have thought there were still to many deficit hawks in the senate for more tax cuts, or modification of social security and/or medicare. Not to mention all the jockeying for position to run in the republican primaries in four years time.

So the main plank is likely to be drilling in alaska and increased mining/forestry access on government land - and free access of snowmobiles to yellowstone of course.

[darius]

I would have thought there were still to many deficit hawks in the senate for more tax cuts

Liberalism aside, I'd vote for Dick Lugar or John McCain for president...can't we get somebody who's fiscally sane in the White House?

darius

[Rogue]

Did Bill Clinton have less of a mandate, or no mandate because he never got more than 49% of the popular vote?

I was responding to miyamoto et al, who was curious about the election return and how 3% can be called a mandate. I want to know if that same reasoning carried over to a President, I assume, they supported.

Jeff, Are you still complaining about GWB's first election? I'm sorry the Constitution didn't suit you in 2000.

[The0ne]

the constitution was fine. The problem I had was the partisan judges who handed Bush an election he did not win.

[keith]

the constitution was fine. The problem I had was the partisan judges who handed Bush an election he did not win.

not really true, although this part of the actual ruling always struck me as amusing;

"The individual citizen has no federal constitutional right
to vote for electors for the President of the United States
unless and until the state legislature chooses a statewide
election as the means to implement its power to appoint
members of the Electoral College."

so really the issue was florida's screwed up electoral process not the supreme court. Plus the small issue that recounts cannot go on forever - the electoral college has to meet.

[jeff]

Jeff, Are you still complaining about GWB's first election? I'm sorry the Constitution didn't suit you in 2000.

I'm not happy about the result of 2000 - though I wouldn't call that "the Constitution". However, what I was referring to was that there certainly wasn't a mandate then, but Bush worked his agenda as if there was.

[Rogue]

the constitution was fine. The problem I had was the partisan judges who handed Bush an election he did not win.

The electoral College , like it or not, decides the Presidency. Bush won.
Did you agree with those partisan judges when they struck down the Texas anti-sodomy law, or confirmed McCain-Fiengold? That Court seems to tick off libs and conservs.

[Rogue]

However, what I was referring to was that there certainly wasn't a mandate then, but Bush worked his agenda as if there was.

He behaved as a President should.

[mrbiggs]

He behaved as a President should.

SOME would say that he overstepped his bounds, by ignoring the general populace, which is not the job of the president.

Bush won fair and square. He won far more states than Gore. The Electoral map was basically red; that's why he won.

I don't know whether or not he won Florida fairly.

[Inquartata]

I would have thought there were still to many deficit hawks in the senate for more tax cuts, or modification of social security and/or medicare. Not to mention all the jockeying for position to run in the republican primaries in four years time.

Wait, now, you haven't been paying attention. The President controls the Congress, they all do exactly what he wants and never demur, they are merely puppets without any mtives or goals or wills of their own. Or at least that seems to be a popular argument hereabouts.

[keith]

Wait, now, you haven't been paying attention. The President controls the Congress, they all do exactly what he wants and never demur, they are merely puppets without any mtives or goals or wills of their own. Or at least that seems to be a popular argument hereabouts.

your confusing your arguements/arguers - thats Jeff you're looking for.

On the other hand their are plenty of house (and some senate) republicans pushing some interesting tax ideas - that bear a purely coincidental similarity to those of the president.

Expect to hear much about the multiple taxation of wealth.