It Official Obama Passes Bush Popular Vote Margin Against Kerry Update 1 (Obama 62,001,928)

Bush claims mandate, sets 2nd-term goals / 'I earned capital in this campaign, political capital, and now I intend to spend it'

November 5, 2004

President Bush speaks to reporters at his first news conference following his re-election at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building Thursday, Nov. 4, 2004 in Washington.

"I earned capital in this campaign, political capital, and now I intend to spend it," Bush told reporters. "It is my style."

As he had done in his victory speech Wednesday, Bush spoke of building a bipartisan consensus and reaching out to the 48 percent of Americans who voted against him. Yet he made plain that he had no intention of moderating his agenda to reach that goal.

"When you win, there is ... a feeling that the people have spoken and embraced your point of view," Bush said. "And that's what I intend to tell Congress, that I made it clear what I intend to do as the president; now let's work."

There have been few signs, beyond a few token words, of conciliation from either side in the immediate aftermath of the contentious 2004 election. Bush's victory was large enough for Republicans to assert they had a majority on their side, yet too small for Democrats to feel intimidated about standing in their way.

"He's not reaching out; he's just saying if you agree with us, you can come along for the journey," said Rep. George Miller, D-Martinez. "And I suspect that is how it's going to play out in the second term."

http://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/Bush-claims-mandate-sets-2nd-term-goals-I-2637116.php#ixzz2BiYC1kA5