Americans want their president to succeed. The greatness of our country is the peaceful transition of power, which is not commonplace in human history. Congratulations to President-elect Obama, and may God be with you.
But now, how to govern?
Yesterday’s election was less a vote for liberal policies than a vote for somebody other than George W. Bush. (Full disclosure: I did not vote for Mr. Obama.) Mr. Obama tacked toward the center during the campaign and avoided advocating truly left-wing ideas – the only real slip in message discipline was his comment to Joe the Plumber about spreading the wealth around. He would be wise to continue that course, because his margins yesterday were historically modest.
The last Democrat to achieve a popular vote margin in double digits was Lyndon Johnson in 1964. The only president to win office by slimmer margins than Mr. Obama was George W. Bush.
In historical terms, the country did not give Mr. Obama a mandate, and he would do well to govern from the pragmatic center. Ronald Reagan, in spite of his very conservative rhetoric and ideas, chose his battles carefully. He advocated dismantling of the Department of Education – but he did not seriously try to force Congress to do so. He picked a few, broadly popular ideas – tax reform, increased military muscle and deregulation of some industries – and spent his political capital there. He did not try to fight every battle of his ideological base.
The two tables below graphically illustrate the margins in popular vote and electoral college votes. The country remains closely divided. They do not want more George Bush – but they didn’t give Mr. Obama America’s credit card to go get whatever he wants.
