A Blowout? No, but a Clear-Cut Win, for a Change
One of the many ways the election of Barack Obama differed from recent presidential elections was that in the end, it did not all come down to one state....
So how does Mr. Obama’s 364, which could go as high as 376, measure up?
“It’s a normal win,” said John C. Fortier, a research fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, who edited “After the People Vote: A Guide to the Electoral College.” Mr. Fortier called it a respectable, solid mandate.
“It was not a blowout and not a really close election,” he said. “We got a little bit used to these close elections. Until 2005, we were legitimately talking about a 50-50 nation, where everything was close.”...
For a real blowout, think of the 523 electoral votes that President Franklin D. Roosevelt won in 1936, when he ran against Alf Landon, who won eight. Or more recently the 525 electoral votes President Ronald Reagan won in 1984, when Walter F. Mondale won only 13. Or the 520 President Richard M. Nixon won in 1972 against George McGovern, who won 17. Those were the widest electoral vote margins.
The disputed 2000 election, by the way — in which George W. Bush ended up with 271 electoral votes — was not the closest on record. The 1800 election produced an electoral-vote tie between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr, and was decided by the House of Representatives. And the election of 1876 was a real squeaker: after the disputed election was put before a special commission of lawmakers and Supreme Court justices, Rutherford B. Hayes beat Samuel J. Tilden by a single electoral vote.
Mr. Obama’s victory was more along the lines of Bill Clinton’s in 1992, when he won 370 electoral votes to the first President George Bush’s 168.
Read entire article at NYT
So how does Mr. Obama’s 364, which could go as high as 376, measure up?
“It’s a normal win,” said John C. Fortier, a research fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, who edited “After the People Vote: A Guide to the Electoral College.” Mr. Fortier called it a respectable, solid mandate.
“It was not a blowout and not a really close election,” he said. “We got a little bit used to these close elections. Until 2005, we were legitimately talking about a 50-50 nation, where everything was close.”...
For a real blowout, think of the 523 electoral votes that President Franklin D. Roosevelt won in 1936, when he ran against Alf Landon, who won eight. Or more recently the 525 electoral votes President Ronald Reagan won in 1984, when Walter F. Mondale won only 13. Or the 520 President Richard M. Nixon won in 1972 against George McGovern, who won 17. Those were the widest electoral vote margins.
The disputed 2000 election, by the way — in which George W. Bush ended up with 271 electoral votes — was not the closest on record. The 1800 election produced an electoral-vote tie between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr, and was decided by the House of Representatives. And the election of 1876 was a real squeaker: after the disputed election was put before a special commission of lawmakers and Supreme Court justices, Rutherford B. Hayes beat Samuel J. Tilden by a single electoral vote.
Mr. Obama’s victory was more along the lines of Bill Clinton’s in 1992, when he won 370 electoral votes to the first President George Bush’s 168.