“Obama won, but he’s got no mandate,” said Charles Krauthammer. That may be the dumbest thing I’ve seen all day. And I read Trump’s tweets.

— Touré (@Toure) November 7, 2012

Some pointed out that winning both the electoral and popular vote does, in fact, signal a mandate.

Since Obama won almost all the swing states, and we somehow elected them our deciders, shouldn’t that be considered a mandate?

— Bill Maher (@billmaher) November 7, 2012

And some rightfully called attention to the fact that the more times you say “mandate” out loud, the less sure you are of the definition.

Everyone is wondering if Obama got a mandate. If he wants one, he should just ask Biden to a movie or something.

— Justin Robinson (@JustinSRobinson) November 7, 2012

Which brings us to the question, what is a mandate, and does Obama have one? I prefer not to answer that question, because I’m really tired of the word mandate. Instead, let’s just all agree that despite whatever grumblings Republicans will put forth in the next days/weeks/months, Obama won the election, and shockingly, that’s the only thing he needs in order to, you know, be the president. (I won’t even go into all the Democratic, progressive candidates who won their Senate races, or the marriage equality measures that passed in three states, or the legalization of marijuana, or the fact that voters have affirmed that “legitimate rape” is not a thing.)

If we’re going to get all into-the-weeds about it, the last true mandate given to a president, it could be argued, was to President Reagan over Walter Mondale in 1984, when the incumbent Republican beat his challenger with 58.8 percent of the popular vote. Bush the First won his election with 53.4 percent of the popular vote, then Clinton won with 43 percent and then again with 49.2 percent. And THEN, Gore won the popular vote with 48.4 percent, and Bush STILL got to be president with only 47.9 (one might call that a nega-mandate). He nudged the needle a bit to win 50.7 percent to Kerry’s 48.3 percent in 2004, which inspired many a Republican pundit to declare that Bush had scored a mandate at the time. Obama won his first election with 52.9 percent, and according to Nate Silver, Chief Numerical Witch of the U.S.A., has received 50.8 percent of the popular vote, to Mitt Romney’s 48.3, in yesterday’s election.

Numbers! Do they make a mandate? I don’t know! The fact is, Obama won re-election and will now proceed to carry out his agenda. You can like that or not like it, but arguing about a mandate doesn’t change that fact. Now can we please stop talking about it and let the man go back to leading the country? If he needs it, he can totally have my mandate, if I ever find it under this mess of papers on my desk.

Richard Mills: a gentleman with standards.

Regents. Officially, the Regents pick the Commissioner, who has a huge amount of clout, making this one instance in which the governor does not make the choice. Informally, however, the governor can exert significant pressure. I was standing next to a former commissioner once when Mario Cuomo walked by. “He’ll ignore me,” predicted the commissioner. Right he was, and in just a short while he was gone. The governor may not choose the commissioner, but he sure as hell can either work with the Regents to deliver money to education or give them a hard time.
Mills spent a lot of time developing a cadre of educational leaders in New York State. His insistence on a set of standards for every schoolchild predated President Bush’s infamous “No Child Left Behind Act.” The main difference is that Mills was fighting for proper funding while Bush, the hypocrite, said that he didn’t want any child left behind but also didn’t want to pay for educational progress.
Mills was insistent that every child graduate—but only with stiff testing policies. This drew criticism from those who hate tests. But anyone who has spent any time with the commissioner knows that you don’t push him around. Nor does he make decisions based on who is on top at a particular time. He survived during the entire Pataki administration. On his watch, the state was successfully sued by a crusading interest group that insisted New York meet its obligations to fund learning for every child. His administration regularly issues state report cards that tell parents how their districts and schools are doing.
Of course, New York is now in a fiscal hole. Gov. David Paterson says that nothing is off the table. Who knows whether Mills, who has worked so hard to give every kid a chance, didn’t see the train coming. In announcing his decision, Mills was quoted as saying, “I didn’t want to get to a point where I’m tired and out of ideas and then say, ‘I’m leaving.’”
All I can say is that the guy has given his all and is owed a big vote of thanks from the people who probably have never even heard of him.

Alan S. Chartock is president and CEO of WAMC/Northeast Public Radio and an executive publisher at The Legislative Gazette.