It’s already started. When President Bush said he hoped to "earn" the trust of those who didn’t vote for him, he obviously was simply mangling the English language again because he must have meant to say "expect." Already, all this talk of a "clear mandate" or "broad victory" ignores the fact that while 51% does beat 48%, there are almost as many people who don’t believe in this president as those who do. Greg Mitchell’s column from Editor & Publisher about how the mainstream, supposedly unbiased media (read: reporters, not pundits) have inexplicably bought into this idea of Bush receiving a "mandate." This excerpt particularly puts things into perspective:
I’ve seen the word "mandate" a hundred times since the election but I have not encountered anyone making the following point: With nearly 115 million votes cast, if just 140,000 had gone a different way in Ohio we would not be talking about who is going to replace Colin Powell in the Bush cabinet, we’d be calling for abolishing the electoral college during President-elect Kerry’s first term.
Of course, anyone backing Bush will most likely call such a rational point simply that of a sore loser whining and not accepting that Bush won. It’s the same problem we keep encountering. Such a comment doesn’t say that Kerry actually won or was robbed; it just indicates how close the race was and how divided the country is. Those of us in the voting minority expect the President to respect those dissenting views not just during victory speeches, but when considering his policies and his methods in implementing them. Coming out one day later and discussing his "mandate" and the "political capital" he has "earned" is not the way to start. But Bush backers won’t debate these points, because it’s easier to say that Democrats are whining about losing. The fact is, the two sides aren’t having the same argument, and in that case, logic gets thrown out the window. I suppose that’s because we no longer live in a rational "reality-based" world. At least, not all of us.
Out of Focus 