Novak: 3 Million Vote Margin = Mandate For Bush; 7 Million For Obama = No Mandate
Novak: 3 Million Vote Margin = Mandate For Bush; 7 Million For Obama = No Mandate
Despite resounding progressive victories last night, conservative pundits continue to repeat the myth of a conservative country. Right-wing pundit Robert Novak climbed aboard the bandwagon, writing today that neither the large Democratic gains nor Obama’s sweeping popular and electoral vote margins were proof of a mandate:
The first Democratic Electoral College landslide in decades did not result in a tight race for control of Congress. [...]
[Obama] may have opened the door to enactment of the long-deferred liberal agenda, but he neither received a broad mandate from the public nor the needed large congressional majorities.
Novak dismissed Democratic congressional gains, noting that they “fell several votes short of the 60-vote filibuster-proof Senate.” However, in 2004 — as President Bush crowed about his “political capital” — Novak didn’t hesitate to agree that Bush’s comparatively narrow victory was proof of a conservative mandate, in a CNN interview just days after the election:
Q: Bob Novak, is 51 percent of the vote really a mandate?
NOVAK: Of course it is. It’s a 3.5 million vote margin. But the people who are saying that it isn’t a mandate are the same people who were predicting that John Kerry would win. … So the people who say there’s not a mandate want the president, now that he’s won, to say, Oh, we’re going to accept the liberalism that the — that the voters rejected. But Mark, this is a conservative country, and it showed it on last Tuesday. [11/06/04]
As of now, Obama’s popular vote margin stands at 7,401,289 — more than twice Bush’s 2004 vote margin — and Obama has netted 63 more electoral votes than Bush in 2004. In his column, Novak dismissed the Democratic Senate gains this year, even though they have netted five seats for a total of 56, with three more seats potentially up for grabs. By contrast, the conservatives’ so-called 2004 “mandate” netted only four new seats for a total of 55.
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Out on the fringes is a great place for Novak and all clowns of his stripe.
November 5th, 2008 at 7:03 pmShouldn’t this geezer be out running down pedestrians?
November 5th, 2008 at 7:04 pmI guess if Novakula serves only as an absurd example of IOKIYAR punditry at its most wingnutty, that’s reason enough to give him attention.
If only he hadn’t committed treason by outing a covert agent during wartime. That’s the part I can’t get past.
November 5th, 2008 at 7:05 pmAnd he’s relevent why??? I think theres something more distureing than just a tumor going on in his head hey you traitor novack go climb under your bed strick your thumb in your mouth cry and pee yourself you and yours are done
November 5th, 2008 at 7:05 pmCaption Contest:
Yes, I am still (holds up hands) “relevant”.
November 5th, 2008 at 7:07 pmwhat ever happen wit the hit n’run this guy committed? is he bring charged? anybody know?
November 5th, 2008 at 7:07 pmRepublican motto:
THAT’S DIFFERENT!
November 5th, 2008 at 7:11 pmNovak is probably using Rove Math (TM) to figure out how much of the popular vote constitutes mandate and how much doesn’t.
Don’t expect results to be consistent with the input, though.
November 5th, 2008 at 7:13 pmI’m deeply grateful that, even though the election is over, Righties are still jabbering their tawdry spin-lines, to the ongoing and abject embarrassment of the Republican’t Party, and the gut-busting delight of mainstream liberal real Americans like me.
thanks, mr. novak
November 5th, 2008 at 7:14 pmmy mock is all for you babe.
(and dennis miller)
Don’t let them control the narrative. It’s pointless, Obama is going to move ahead with the vision he has. Having this conversation and getting worked up over the nutwhackery of the GOP is a waste.
They are never going to get it.
I hope he’s writing from the safety of his own home, for every pedestrians sake.
November 5th, 2008 at 7:14 pmNovak: 3 Million Vote Margin = Mandate For Bush; 7 Million For Obama = No Mandate»
– - What’re the odds on Novak living until inauguration day?
Wait, can the undead die again?
November 5th, 2008 at 7:15 pmWhy does anyone even speak to that old fool?
November 5th, 2008 at 7:16 pmNovak=traitor
November 5th, 2008 at 7:17 pmWHY IS THIS POS STILL BREATHING?
NOVAK=TRAITOR
November 5th, 2008 at 7:18 pmMandate for Novak and his pals to fade away.
Novak looks like he might be Kissenger’s or Jabba the Hut’s illegitimate love child.
November 5th, 2008 at 7:20 pmIt’s a simple formula: For the republicans, their underachieving is always heralded as stellar accomplishment since it’s the best they can do. They also realize that the opposition is capable of and inclined to be so much better.
So Novak is simply putting voice to the higher expectations naturally inherent in all those intelligent enough to conspicuously avoid the republican party.
Shorter Novak: “We declared a mandate because even though we suck rocks and our policies are a cancer to the body politic, we still got a buncha Cletuses to vote for us.”
November 5th, 2008 at 7:21 pmAnd so, in their fear and dismay, the Reichwhiners will close ranks. The Freepers are calling for the expulsion of “moderates” (are their any moderates who haven’t rejected them?) from the GOP. And the swine, from across the nation, are blaming McSpin for not being nasty enough. We haven’t even begun to scratch the surface of the filth from the discredited, failed, neocon movement.
November 5th, 2008 at 7:22 pmNovak needs to retire. He has no place in the post Bush era.
November 5th, 2008 at 7:22 pmHit and run? Illegal prescriptions? Rightwing pundits are exempt from law apparently.
November 5th, 2008 at 7:24 pmCan we haul this blight on society off to jail and throw away the key?
November 5th, 2008 at 7:26 pmOops! “their”=”there”
November 5th, 2008 at 7:26 pmDespite resounding progressive victories last night, conservative pundits continue to repeat the myth of a conservative country.
and all the bots just nod, say “uh huh, see”…
good bot.
November 5th, 2008 at 7:31 pmThank you for this. I have been trying all day to get raw numbers not the percentage. I have been writing on the right wing blogs that this is a mandate … just to annoy them. Mr. Obama will be a great President and role model. January can not come soon enough. As for Novak, I will miss him. Doesn’t he have a terminal illness? No, seriously. I disagree with him, I think he owes Plame a full explanation and apology. Just some random thoughts of a very happy “liberal”. We can take back that word now!
November 5th, 2008 at 7:31 pmI thought Novak’s supposed brain tumor had muzzled him. When was he let out of his cage again?
November 5th, 2008 at 7:33 pmso, was that “brain tumor” real?
or a sympathy plea?
whatever happened to that?
November 5th, 2008 at 7:33 pmTHAT “THING” IS STILL ALIVE?
A PAINFUL SCREAMING DEATH THAT ENDS IN HIM BEING DRAGGED INTO THE DEEPEST DEPTHS OF HELL IS STILL GOOD FOR “IT”
November 5th, 2008 at 7:34 pmDrop this bloated despicable man off in the desert in Iraq by himself. He could barter his own blubber for a few hours of existence. More than he deserves.
November 5th, 2008 at 7:35 pmZooey Says:
Why does anyone even speak to that old fool?
He’s going to find there aren’t many democrats willing to speak to him, on or off the record. And any that do should be hounded for coddling him.
There is no reason for a democrat to give him even a nickel’s worth of face time.
November 5th, 2008 at 7:35 pmThis man has earned the scorn of every American.
November 5th, 2008 at 7:37 pmRobert Novak is just another delusional neocon tool that belongs in jail.
November 5th, 2008 at 7:45 pmDon’t pay attention to Novakula; please just excuse him and move on. His brain’s been eated and he can’t help it.
Cheers,
November 5th, 2008 at 7:47 pmCan we please now start hold these Neo-con criminals to account? This country is ready for a good cleansing.
November 5th, 2008 at 7:51 pmBush and Cheney hopefully will get a man-date here real soon, if they don’t fly off to Paraguay first.
November 5th, 2008 at 7:52 pmI’m sorry that Novak is ill, but it’s just too damn bad that he will never change his stripes.
November 5th, 2008 at 7:57 pmThis slimy toad sold his soul so long ago he can’t even remember what it was like to have one.
November 5th, 2008 at 7:57 pmHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Novakula is still alive.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
November 5th, 2008 at 7:58 pmBuckie Boy, remember, it is boooosh who is off to Paraguay, Dead-eye Dick is off to Dubai.
“We’re off on the road to war crimes trial”
November 5th, 2008 at 7:59 pmDoes he only come out at night?
November 5th, 2008 at 7:59 pmThe unbelievable arrogant hypocrisy of the loony right.
November 5th, 2008 at 8:01 pmAnd Nofukula, it is PRESIDENT MANDATE to you shitstain.
November 5th, 2008 at 8:01 pmbush’s man date was looking into the soul windows of a future shadow dictator.
Obama’s mandate comes from winning a clear majority of a liberal nation. This is a great time to have the most liberal President in modern history.
Of course the most vile of the prostitutes of their points would deny the clear evidence of their falsehoods.
Wow, it’s starting to sink in. Can’t wait to get a Department of Justice. Someone who knows the law is in the White House. The Constitution might mean something again.
November 5th, 2008 at 8:02 pmAnother NeoNutbag bites the dust… His other two talking points will be 1) Need to go back to the Raygun model – NOT..Ronnie’s policies got us where we are. and 2) “This is still a center-right nation”…
Two words for these fools…SCREW YOU!!! buh-bye…….
November 5th, 2008 at 8:03 pmNovak: a prejudiced, right-wing, dishonest boor.
November 5th, 2008 at 8:03 pm“tigger Says:
Novak needs to retire.”
He supposedly DID retire. This is the son of Novakula, a reborn from parts Novak, come back from the dead, and is now a fixture of the Wingnuttery.
November 5th, 2008 at 8:05 pmhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/08/04/robert-novak-to-retire_n_116800.html
Caption: Mr. Novak, shown performing the highly-effective “double teabag manuver,” reserved for “anonymous, highly-placed administration insiders…”
November 5th, 2008 at 8:06 pmWHat is with the fcuking Reichwing and the air quotes too? I could not help but watch McGrampy with his arthritic hands doing the air quotes when he was dissing women’s health during the debates and afterwards. I wnated to shove those quotes up his a**, same with Nofukula here.
November 5th, 2008 at 8:08 pmMethinks they do protest too much.
November 5th, 2008 at 8:36 pmCaption: I am not a criminal
November 5th, 2008 at 8:40 pmRobert Novak is an azzhole and he should be locked up for hit and run. This coward hit a man and left him for dead and he’s walking around talking shlt about who has a mandate and who doesn’t, give me a break. There is a special place reserved in hell for Robert Novak. He will be sitting right next to Hitler and Sadam, I hope he likes his seat.
November 5th, 2008 at 8:46 pmPart of being an effective leader is listening to the vast majority of Americans without giving too much or too little credence to the comments of those who are unintentionally ignorant or purposely disengenuous. In other words, know who is deserving of attention and guidance and know who is irredeemable and deserving of being ignored. Novak is an irreconcilable liar.
November 5th, 2008 at 9:25 pmIf Bush won by one vote in 2004, the MSM would claim mandate. Bush won with 286 electoral votes in 2004. That’s no freakin’ landslide, and it sure as hell ain’t no mandate.
The GOP picked up four seats in 2004, but they were all in the south, and the Democrats who held the seats were all retiring. Hardly a mandate.
For the record, the only Democratic Senator who beat a Republican incumbent in 2004 was none other than President-Elect Obama.
November 5th, 2008 at 10:41 pmDr. Hussein Matt #32
Wow! That was so cool!!
Next time some stupid arse uses air quotes I want someone to snap off their fingers
November 5th, 2008 at 11:28 pmKerry’s margin of victory in 2004 was 3,000,000.
The exit poills are evidence we are allowed to see.
The official result is “evidence” we are not allowed to see. Never believe “evidence” you are not allowed to see.
Keep checking gregpalast.com for stolen votes in 2008.
November 6th, 2008 at 12:15 amOgre is thy name and to much two ply tp is thy shame, let him use sand!
November 6th, 2008 at 12:26 am.
Ali,
Novak is classic…
… IOKIYR!!!
.
November 6th, 2008 at 2:30 amnovak?
i thought he was dead.
November 6th, 2008 at 3:38 amCaption: Little Bunny Foo Foo, I Don’t Want To See You…
November 6th, 2008 at 6:57 amCome on, traitor — you can say it: Obama has a MANDATE from the people of this country.
Your neocon/republican logic is not going to fly anymore. You people have been revealed for what you are, and things are not going to be pretty for you criminals in the future. LAW will return, and thus criminals, and particularly traitors, will not get a free pass.
America clearly decided to NOT continue down the path of fascism and destructive policies. And for all that the right tried to steal this election, they simply could not do it in the face of the overwhelming turnout at the polls. THAT IS A MANDATE.
Arrest the criminals and traitors.
November 6th, 2008 at 7:41 amTo JaneaneTheAcerbicGoblin:
Most of your comment was spot-on. However, you are wrong about Obama facing a GOP incumbent in 2004. The incumbent retired, and then the candidate the G(reedy)O(rnery)P(erverts) had selected to run for the Senate dropped out, after his estranged wife revealed his habit of going to sex clubs and that he tried to force her to have sex in front of a crowd at such a place. Unable to find any noteworthy Rethug in Illinois to run, the state GOP got sometime presidential candidate Alan Keyes to oppose Obama. Needless to say, Obama beat the carpetbagger Keyes by an overwhelming majority.
JaneaneTheAcerbicGoblin Says:
If Bush won by one vote in 2004, the MSM would claim mandate. Bush won with 286 electoral votes in 2004. That’s no freakin’ landslide, and it sure as hell ain’t no mandate
For the record, the only Democratic Senator who beat a Republican incumbent in 2004 was none other than President-Elect Obama.
November 5th, 2008 at 10:41 pm Recommend (1) |
November 6th, 2008 at 8:07 amWhy do facts hate Robert Novak?
I here that after the new year Novak and Cheney will be palling around more and more. It seems they have combined their two favorite passtimes into a sport any blood-thirsty neocon would love. They will kick off the new year with a trip to the Palindome in Wasilla where they will debut the sport known as roadkill shoot em up. They start by downing viagra and Wild Duck. Then Novak careens his Lexus across the tundra while Cheney hangs out the window with his shotgun. When they come across a mammal (I know mammal is vague but neocon prerequisits only say it must be a warmblooded creature) Novak tries to run it over and Dick tries to shoot it. Whoever is first to succeed gets first dibs on the fresh blood.
Seriously though, Novak’s a d1ck!
November 6th, 2008 at 8:29 amHe isn’t nicknamed “No Facts” for nothing.
November 6th, 2008 at 8:34 amdbadass Says:
——————————————————————————–
“Shouldn’t this geezer be out running down pedestrians?”
Nah, they took away his vette and gave him a tricycle with a flat tire. About his speed.
November 6th, 2008 at 8:43 amBrain tumor?
====
November 6th, 2008 at 8:46 amYo, brain tumor! What are you waitin’ for? Finish this old POS off already!
November 6th, 2008 at 9:26 amWas he given this talking point, or did he come up with it all on his own? Guess he was never much good at math…
November 6th, 2008 at 12:08 pm