Partisan Blogs Will Try to "Spin" Obama's Mandate

Watch what happens in the next few days.

To begin with, watch who Obama picks for his team. He’s made very strong overtures to the Democratic elite, in his first few picks. Guys like Emanuel are Washington insiders, and are as staunchly liberal and partisan as you get in the Democratic Party.

However there are rumors that Chuck Hagel, Colin Powell and possibly other Republicans will also be invited. Indeed, Doris Kearns Goodwin confirmed last night, that not only is Obama reading her book about the Lincoln cabinet (that was very bi-partisan), he also called her to ask her questions about it.

If you are like me, and believe the poisonous partisanship of the last twenty years is hurting this country, this is really welcomed news.

However, when you read the highly-partisan blogs the next few days, guard against their interpretation that their party alone truly represents the country as a whole.

Don’t let the left tell you they “own” Obama’s mandate, and don’t let the right tell you that Obama’s victory means nothing, that the country is still mostly on their side.

Remember, if you are an independent, or if you are a younger voter, *you* were the one that gave Obama his victory. Obama's legacy begins with listening and empowering all voices in America, not just one firmly entrenched in one political party or the other. If he has a clear mandate to do anything, it is simply to unite this country, rather than divide it.

America isn't liberal, it isn't conservative, rather it is the inclusion of all those philosophies, and many more. America is free to borrow from any political philosophy, and it defines itself in far broader, more cerebral terms than "left" or "right".

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