Obama Mandate

If Republicans want to throw only pointless mud at the nation's incoming president in a time of grave problems, when the nation wants its leader to succeed, they run a suicidal risk of making the hole they've already dug deeper.

There is a promise in Obama's election that goes beyond any explicit pledge made during the campaign. That potential may be found in the reaffirmation of America's identity as a true land of opportunity.

There's talk on conservative radio that Obama earned no mandate. Obama, now with 364 electoral votes, would have won even without his giant prizes of Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Florida.

A clear mandate would give President Obama and the Democrats a refreshing opportunity to demonstrate to the American people that such power can be transformative and healing, rather than divisive.

Would a mandate embolden the progressive movement to pressure a President Obama to reach farther than his own more incrementalist impulses may initially lead him to reach?