This is no mandate
“The mandate is a myth,” said John Altman, associate professor of political science at York College of Pennsylvania. “But even if there was such a thing as a mandate, this clearly isn’t an election that would produce one.”
He pointed to Obama’s small margin of victory and the fact that U.S. voters are divided deeply by race, gender, spirituality, and party affiliation. You can’t claim to be carrying out the will of the people when the populous has little shared will…
“Mandates may not exist in Washington anymore with the hyper-partisanship we now see associated with every substantive or political move on the Hill,” said Steve McMahon, strategist for Howard Dean’s 2004 presidential campaign.
“I’m generally an optimist, but it’s hard to see how there is a mandate for anything other than more of what we’ve seen the last several years,” said GOP strategist Mark McKinnon, who helped elect and reelect the younger President Bush. “There’s not a good scenario for how this turns out.”
Blowback
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It matters little
MoreLiberty on November 7, 2012 at 12:37 PM
Yep.
And no, Ron Brownstein is hardly a Republican.
Norwegian on November 7, 2012 at 12:37 PM
Because Obama cares whether or not he has a mandate. /
Kataklysmic on November 7, 2012 at 12:37 PM
Anybody think Obama cares one lick about this crap? He’s going to do what he wants.
forest on November 7, 2012 at 12:38 PM
Who cares?
May Obama obliterate the land. She deserves him fully.
Schadenfreude on November 7, 2012 at 12:45 PM
And Obama cares? 50% of America has proven that we are stupid and deserve what happens to us. The Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave?
clippermiami on November 7, 2012 at 12:46 PM
He won.
Republicans lost.
End of story.
albill on November 7, 2012 at 12:47 PM
Who cares?
What would Obama do with a mandate, anyway? He doesn’t have any agenda besides not being Mitt Romney.
The point of this election was repeal his presidency, and he doesn’t need a mandate to prevent that, just the chair.
HitNRun on November 7, 2012 at 12:47 PM
Ron Fournier not Ron Brownstein….
Buy Danish on November 7, 2012 at 1:00 PM
Probably saw “National Journal” and “Ron” and just stopped reading…
updog on November 7, 2012 at 1:04 PM
True. I can’t believe how many people I hear say “Well, I didn’t really like Romney” as if that mattered.
yubley on November 7, 2012 at 1:06 PM
Give the media two weeks and it’ll be the grease mandate in USA history.
bgibbs1000 on November 7, 2012 at 1:25 PM
grease should be greatest
bgibbs1000 on November 7, 2012 at 1:25 PM
He doesn’t need a mandate. He’ll do what he wants to do and he’ll do it the way he wants to do it because rules don’t apply to him.
itsacookbook on November 7, 2012 at 1:32 PM
Yeah, it is.
stenwin77 on November 7, 2012 at 1:48 PM
bgibbs1000 on November 7, 2012 at 1:57 PM
Huh, used to play hockey with McMahon. Nice guy, fast but usually didn’t finish (score) – wasn’t aware he had been part of the Dean debacle.
Bambi ran his first “campaign” with just as much nothing as his second – “hope and change” (the most vacuous and self-parodic empty slogan in recent history) the first time, and, uh ….. the second time? Nothing at all. Astonishing. A presidential campaign by an incumbent literally bereft of any agenda.
Only question is whether the broken comprehension of cause/effect is so beyond repair that even disastrous conditions in 2014 and beyond don’t result in “throwing the bums out”. Not an optimist myself. Marginal help could come from a House with guts and brains. As I said …. not an optimist.
IceCold on November 7, 2012 at 2:48 PM