The Importance of an Obama Mandate

[thesquanderer]

The more you hear about the polls, the more it sounds like an Obama victory is a sure thing. But don't be complacent, even if you're in a solidly blue state! We need as big a victory as possible!

In 2004, Bush said he had a mandate, using the term as to suggest that overwhelming popular support should allow him to take on major initiatives. Like privatizing social security. We see how well that worked out.

But perhaps the reason Bush could not push through his bigger reforms was that he really had no overwhelming mandate from the people. Sure, as he would point out, he had the most votes of any president in history. But that was just half the story. Who got the second most votes in history? John Kerry. Simply, more people voted than ever before. So while more people voted for Bush than for any other president, the fact is, more people also voted against Bush than for any other president in history. So he did not have the support he truly would have needed for major, controversial reforms.

But the issues before the country now are huge, and it is not enough to tinker around the edges. Bold action will be needed, and a President Obama with will have a better chance at success if he has demonstrated overwhelming popular support as opposed to having just barely gotten elected in a squeaker.

So if you or anyone you know feels that perhaps the vote isn't so important (especially in a solid blue state), remember, even though popular vote isn't specifically what elects the president, it still can provide him with a more powerful position from which to govern. Every vote counts!