Obama's Electoral Mandate

When we talk about elected mandates, we must first be clear on what an electoral mandate is. I was not exactly sure how to define the term so I did a bit of digging and research on the concept. The term “mandate” is the authority given to someone to do certain things, or to undertake an assignment, or to serve or function in a specific role. In an article I found, it described a mandate in the political context by simply meaning, the authorization to act given to an elected representative. The article also pointed out that a mandate also assumes that both the giver and receiver of the mandate are more or less quite clear about the nature of, and the conditions attaching to the mandate or authority vested in the receiver. Obama campaigned on the mandate for “change” and now as our president he has a mandate to fix our economic situation.

Elections carry messages about problems, policies and programs that can be implemented to change the current political system. President Obama campaigned and sent messages about the economy that was plain to see and affected the entire electorate. His campaign convinced the electorate that he would turn his messages and initiatives into action if he was given the permission, through being elected, to put his messages into action. Also, during his election many thought, including Nancy Pelosi, that Obama’s mandate was not just for change, but for cooperation and bipartisanship as well. And the electorate hoped that finally they would receive a government that would function for the good of the people by governing from the “middle” and not from the liberal “left. I would definitely say that during his campaign he had an electoral mandate to change and reverse some of the right wing policies and attempt to fix some of the problems that the Republican rule of government has brought us over the past eight years. Under President Bush we have gotten ourselves into a war that continues to drag on, our economy is the worst it has ever been since the Great Depression, oil prices have gotten out of control, corrupt politicians have made more than a few headlines are just to name a few. Mandate for a change and to remedy the problems indeed, and it seems that Americans have no problem with it.

Now that President Obama is elected, he is under a lot of pressure from the electorate to fulfill expectations to bring this change; he still does have an electoral mandate. The electoral is expecting change and a resolution to our poor economic situation are they are expecting President Obama to do something drastic to help out the economy. However, we have seen already just with the passing of his economic stimulus package that “change” brings a new period of conflict within U.S. politics. His mandate of trying to run a bipartisan government has been difficult, as most of the Republicans do not agree with the package nor his $3.6 budget in his efforts to remedy the economic situation, he still is trying to gain citizen support and keep our spirits high. The article that I chose for this week describes his progress, future and current problems, and when we will see the benefits of his initiatives and policities. It explains his efforts quite simply. He is trying to fix problems caused by the Bush administration to refinance the banks, fix the economy, and handle foreign policy issues, as well as trying to implement his own policies and initiatives such as health care, stem cell research, education and clean energy. I would say he definitely has a mandate by reversing eight years of problems and bringing about change with his own policies. So by the given definition above that a mandate gives a representative the authority to act and serve out a specific role with the idea that the representative and electorate are clear about the initiatives, conditions and goals, I would say yes, Obama has an elected mandate. People wanted change, and they are getting it.