2008 That Mandate
posted by on November 9 at 9:59 AM
The popular vote in 2004: 62,028,285 for Bush and 59,028,109 for Kerry. The popular vote in 2008: 65,431,955 for Obama and 57,434,084 for McCain.
Now remember what Bush said immediately after he was reelected:
“I earned capital in this campaign, political capital, and now I intend to spend it… “
With that in mind, read this article:
Despite resounding progressive victories last night, conservative pundits continue to repeat the myth of a conservative country. Right-wing pundit Robert Novak climbed aboard the bandwagon, writing today that neither the large Democratic gains nor Obama’s sweeping popular and electoral vote margins were proof of a mandate:
The first Democratic Electoral College landslide in decades did not result in a tight race for control of Congress. […][Obama] may have opened the door to enactment of the long-deferred liberal agenda, but he neither received a broad mandate from the public nor the needed large congressional majorities.
Novak dismissed Democratic congressional gains, noting that they “fell several votes short of the 60-vote filibuster-proof Senate.” However, in 2004 — as President Bush crowed about his “political capital” — Novak didn’t hesitate to agree that Bush’s comparatively narrow victory was proof of a conservative mandate, in a CNN interview just days after the election:
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.
And where does Obama’s popular vote margin currently stand?
[It’s at] 7,401,289 — more than twice Bush’s 2004 vote margin — and Obama has netted 63 more electoral votes than Bush in 2004.”
Well, well…
Transition advisers to President-elect Barack Obama have compiled a list of about 200 Bush administration actions and executive orders that could be swiftly undone to reverse White House policies on climate change, stem cell research, reproductive rights and other issues, according to congressional Democrats, campaign aides and experts working with the transition team.
"...Transition advisers to President-elect Barack Obama have compiled a list of about 200 Bush administration actions and executive orders that could be swiftly undone to reverse White House policies..."
Good god! The end of the Bush regime and their cult of ignorance? I can't believe this is real.
This was a top down, big media driven election.
At the local level, Republicans held and gained seats. Example: Republicans took the state Senate for the first time ever.
Check out the NYT election map at the state/county level -- geographically there is lots of red. In fact, what we see is that basically its the laggards who still cling to an outdated urban lifestyle trying to impose their values on others.
Poor Bailo.
Bob Novak talking out of his ass? Yer kidding. I'm shocked, I tell you, SHOCKED!
Which state senate did they take Bailo? The 31-18 one here in washington? That's democratic? Or some other mythical washington state senate?
This post made me smile involuntarily. I am all about 2009.
#5: Oklahoma.
Where Tuesday’s Tide Was All Republican
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/08/us/politics/08oklahoma.html?ref=us
To John Bailout:
Oklahoma? Duh. My dad just moved there, so I know. Conservative Xtian, mostly white. BIIIIG stretch. That's like thinking the Saudis would elect a Swede to run things. Back to topic at hand... FIRST order of bidness needs to be closing Gitmo. No more torture. PERIOD.
Oh my god, not the state legislature of Oklahoma! We are so fucked.
Bailo = Moron.
Democrats took back the Ohio House of Representatives in the Obama tide.
I'm starting to think Bailo is the Slog version of A. Birch Steen. Every story needs a villain.
That's IT?!? Fucking OKLAHOMA? That's the shining example of a GOP grass-roots resurgence? And all because of a net two seat gain? Jeebuz on a Ritz, J.B., even the Montana GOP fared better than that, not that it would have supported your lunatic theory, but still, at least it would have been a slightly better example.
And I note you conveniently FAIL to mention the simultaneous LOSS of two GOP state legislatures in New York and Delaware, making it a net wash for the GOP in terms of control of state legislatures, where they remain at 14. And I would also point out your gaping silence regarding the Dems NET GAIN of FOUR ADDITIONAL states where the legislatures were split between the two parties.
So, after Tuesday's election the Dems now hold a total of 27 state legislatures to the GOP's 14 (the remaining 9 still being split), whereas BEFORE the election the breakdown was 23-14-13.
Yep, the momentum at the state level is CERTAINLY moving to the right, J.B.
You're fucking loonier than I thought.
@11 - yeah, Bailo is too stupid to fail. But, nowhere near as entertaining as A. Birch Steen.
Real or not, the Bailo character has outlived his usefulness.
Fuck, isn't Novak supposed to die soon or something? It's about time.
Holy shit the GOP gained 2 seats in Oklahoma?
The GOP is the party of the racist south and the uneducated middle.
Congrats Bailo, perhaps you should move to someplace better than Seattle, like say, Oklahoma, or Arkansas.
The GOP: Still #1 in the minds of people with fatal brain tumors.
Are we not alloud to talk about his hit and run anymore because of the brain cancer thing?
http://wonkette.com/401363/hit-and-run-bob-novak-smashes-pedestrian-with-corvette
Dude's a class A-Asshole.
"To all of you African Americans who voted for Prop 8 due to religious reasons: you do know what the bible says about SLAVERY, don't you?"
-headline from reddit.com
that pretty much sums up the hypocrisy/irony.
HELLOOOO wrong thread. ^^
Here's some good news for John Bailo: some of those Oklahoma counties went 88% for McCain! and in nearby Texas, in the panhandle, several counties topped 90%! Whoo hoo!
Of course, nobody fucking lives there. King County, Texas: McCain 151, Obama 8. Loving County, Texas: McCain 67, Obama 12. Roberts County, Texas: McCain 477, Obama 41.
Maybe you should think about moving there, Failo.
Fail-Os. The breakfast of losers.