What Mandate Did Voters Give Obama?

What Mandate Did Voters Give Obama?

Last week was a big win for President Obama. So what are American voters trying to tell the president about their hopes for his second term? 

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Contrary to conservative conspiracy theories, Barack Obama won by a bigger margin than JFK, Nixon, Carter and George W. Bush. But what are voters trying to tell him about their hopes for his second term? As TheNation.com executive editor Richard Kim put it, “They rejected the Romney/Ryan agenda…they rejected the idea that society is made of takers and givers.” He joins Nation columnist Melissa Harris-Perry to piece apart what Obama’s new mandate means for the future of progressive policy.

—Christie Thompson

For more on four more years, check out Robert Scheer on why Obama's second term is our responsibility.

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With the midterm elections now firmly upon us, the question is whether Democratic candidates will do more than merely occupy ballot lines as mild alternatives to the red-hot crisis that is Donald Trump.

As Trump spends over $1 billion a day on a globally destabilizing war on Iran and admits that he doesn’t “think about Americans’ financial situation,” millions across the country are struggling with the surging costs of essentials. Democrats must seize this moment and advance bold, small-“d” populist ideas—not settle for cynical caution that once again snatches defeat from the jaws of victory.

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Onward,

Katrina vanden Huevel
Editor and Publisher, The Nation

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