A recent poll shows approvaly of Bush's handling of the war at exactly 49%-49%. He's teetering on the edge of having the lowest approval rating of a second term President at the time of innaugruration in over 50 years. Wow, what an overwhelming mandate.

last I checked it is not a requirement of the POTUS to run the country based on polls....*shrug*

If he's going to throw around terms like "mandate", he better have soemthing to back it up. He's supposed to be the ultimate representative of the people. He's acting as anything but.

He won the election- that means something. You are never going to have it where there is a huge % difference (I would invoke Clinton but I think Wendybeth may kick me for it LOL)

Oops ! Politics. Just passing, folks !

The what now?

The great debate of the representative republic.

Being that the country is closely divided on many issues, how is it possible to represent all the people? Even for a congressman to represent all of those within his/her district? It is not.

So what is an elected official to do? I have always been of the philosophy that when eleccted the official must then do what he/she thinks is best - it is not possible to represent the interests of all issue by issue. It is only possible to go by ones conscience and if enough voters do not like what you have done, they will vote you out.

As an example, Tom Daschle was repeatedly elected in South Dakota even though the state was massively in the republican column. A candidate finally got the populace to see that Daschle was not at all representing them as a majority, and they voted Daschle out. While in office, did Tom Daschle have an obligation to vote more "conservatively"? No. I would suggest he did not represent their more conservative leanings well at all. He finally paid the price at the polls.

I don't disagree that he has to lead the way he feels right, but what I can't abide by is the fact that he's an arrogant prick. It's childish, and dismissive. It's saying, "yeah, half the country disagress with me, but screw 'em all, bwahahahah!" Normally, I can accept that some percentage of the country is going to not be represented, but he himself is inviting this critisizm by strutting around talking about mandates, blatantly ignoring his mistakes, flat out saying he's not going to hold people responsible for making mistakes, and being the arrogant prick that he is.

My, my - so hostile on this joyous inauguration day! Here I am, listening to live Fox News coverage of the blessed event, smiling all the while.

Joyous what now? Say, is there anything good on TV today?

Toot toot.