Bush won no mandate

Jacob S. Hacker and Paul Pierson: 'Bush won no mandate'
Posted on Tuesday, November 09 @ 10:12:24 EST
By Jacob S. Hacker and Paul Pierson, The New Republic
http://www.smirkingchimp.com/article.php?sid=18616&mode=nested&order=0
No sooner had the red and blue ink dried on the maps of election commentators than triumphant Republicans began talking about their clear mandate for an ambitious domestic agenda. The people have spoken, Republicans proclaimed, and what they have said is that they favor the conservative agenda on taxes, Social Security, health care, gay marriage, and abortion. The administration, their humble servant, has a solemn duty to execute their wishes. And so President Bush has promised to move forward with ambitious but still only vaguely outlined plans for Social Security privatization, tax simplification, and restrictions on lawsuits. "I have political capital and I intend to spend it," he declared....