The M Word

And Obama used it today. In public on the Teevee Box.

Mandate.

An interesting moment at Barack Obama's presser on the economy today: He declared in more direct terms than I've heard before that his "decisive" win has unquestionably given him a "mandate."

"We had, I think, a decisive win, because of the extraordinary desire for change on the part of the American people," he said in response to a reporter's question. "And so I don't think there is any question that we have a mandate to move the country in a new direction, and not continue the same old practices that have gotten us into the fix that we're in."

Of course Obama, being smart enough to know exactly what use of the M Word would then entail, promptly backtracks on it.

But Obama also tempered his claim to a mandate by acknowledging that he needs Republican help to succeed.

"I won 53 percent of the vote," he said. "That means 46 or 47 percent of the country voted for John McCain."

He added that he was entering the White House"with a sense of humility and a recognition that wisdom is not the monopoly of any one party. In order for us to be effective given the scope and the scale of the challenges we face, Republicans and Democrats are going to have to work together."

It's a start. No use rubbing it in the faces of the GOP he'll need in order to pass his legislation.

...I'm lying about that. Obama should really just tear into these assholes. Just once. Samuel L Jackson style.