Reply #30: Few presidents, if any, have received broad authority from the people [View All]

to do whatever they wanted. In that sense, no president has ever had a mandate.

People vote for a president for all sorts of reasons. You have single-issue voters, "personality" voters, yellow dogs, et cetera ad infinitum. Some vote for a candidate because his opponent is a jackass. Some vote for a candidate because his opponent isn't enough of a jackass. Few people vote for a candidate because they support his entire platform.

Of course, with our two party system, the likelihood that either candidate is going to represent the views of a majority of Americans is slim. But, he can represent enough of their views (or appeal to them enough personally) that they'll vote for him and give him a majority.

Therefore, he can claim a "mandate" that doesn't really exist.