A Man-date for Obama (and not with Joe Biden)

The issue of whether or not a politician can ever receive an electoral mandate is, and always will be, convoluted. Some look for electoral mandates in election results, others in exit polls, and still others in the electorate’s attitudes regarding the state of a nation’s political system. Clearly, it can be reasonably argued that by capturing nearly 53 percent of the vote to Sen. McCain’s 45 percent, President Obama demonstrated some sort of electoral mandate. A difference of nearly eight percentage points in a Presidential election is certainly nothing to scoff at. Based on the election results alone, it can arguably be determined that the electorate bestowed upon the new President a great deal of confidence and political capital.

The argument for an Obama electoral mandate becomes even more convincing when one considers the attitudes of the electorate in 2008 (and currently). The theme of Obama’s campaign, and in a disguised fashion that of Sen. McCain’s, was change. Voters had become fed up with the nation’s political atmosphere and its policies regarding issues like foreign affairs and the economy. Reform was first on our list. Because so many felt that effective reform could only be achieved under an Obama administration, he was elected overwhelmingly. But I argue that even if the results had been a miniscule difference of only, say, half a percentage point between the two candidates, as long as Obama managed to squeak it out, it could be said that he was given an electoral mandate. I say this because his widespread support echoed an overarching and palpable desire for a new American system. Voters longing for reform, including those in all corners of each of the major political parties, finally put their foot down. Obama inspired a confidence and reinvigoration that has not been seen since JFK. Because of this intangible inspirational quality behind his campaign and election, I feel that he did receive an electoral mandate.

It is difficult to tell how long that mandate will last, however. In fact, it can be said that it is already beginning to deteriorate. With the strict partisanship that now embodies Congress, people are beginning to question Obama’s campaign promise of bipartisanship. If the electorate begins to feel betrayed or neglected by the new administration, it will not be long before the electoral mandate is “revoked”.