Mandate, my Aunt Fanny.

I'm sure you've heard by now that Karl Rove has been hired by Newsweek as a counterpoint to the Daily Kos', Markos Moulitsas. (Whatever. It still won't make me buy that rag, Newsweek) Anyways. I found myself reading this WSJ Opinion piece written by Karl Rove and was absolutely gobsmacked by these numbers.

The Democratic victory in 2006 was narrow. They won the House by 85,961 votes out of over 80 million cast and the Senate by a mere 3,562 out of over 62 million cast. A party that wins control by that narrow margin can quickly see its fortunes reversed when it fails to act responsibly, fails to fulfill its promises, and fails to lead.

I had no clue the vote margin was THIS narrow.

To my way of thinking a margin this small does not a MANDATE make and for the Dems to go around screaming out their claim to this massive mandate like a bunch of chimpanzees - make that macacas, is just plain wrong.