How will Bush, the “revolutionary president” do with the mandate he got from the American people?
At a press conference following his election, President Bush chose to use the more modest word “capital” instead of “mandate” to talk about his victory: 287 electoral votes and 58 million popular votes (51% of the electorate). He called for national solidarity and promised to use this capital for the benefit of all – those who voted for him as well as those who didn’t. 9/11 turned Bush into a war president. History shows that from Reagan to Clinton, a president’s second term is spent on solving economic problems and consolidating peace. During the last week of the campaign, Bush told his audience: “Freedom is not a gift from America to the world. It is a gift from God to every man and woman.” In this religious culture, faith is Bush’s compass. Bush has built his domestic policies on the same messianic base: he’s called on the Supreme Court to correct abortion legislation, he’s asked Congress to adopt an amendment to the Constitution banning same-sex marriage and limiting stem cell rese
