Democrats Now Have a "Mandate" - But 1994 GOP Didn't?
Adam Nagourney: "The Democratic Party can clearly claim a mandate."
Published: 11/9/2006 2:00 PM ET
Reporter Adam Nagourney, on audio clip, gets a bit excited about Democratic prospects Wednesday morning: "Twenty-five votes is a lot of votes and that's what it is right now, it could be more by the time we finish counting. And that's a large margin. And, first of all, that means the Democratic Party can clearly claim a mandate and their party leaders will have a lot of flexibility in trying to build coalitions to get stuff through."
A Nexis search indicates that the Times failed to find a Republican "mandate" in the week after the GOP gained 54 House seats in 1994 - yet Nagourney sees a clear mandate for Democrats in a 25-seat gain in 2006.
