By assigning several of his top White House aides to cabinet posts for his second term – at the Justice Department, at the State Department and at the Department of Education – George W. Bush seems poised to leave even more of his Right-wing imprimatur on the federal government over the next four years. Instead of uniting the country, as he initially promised, the only thing Bush has united is his political power.

Before all the votes had been counted in Ohio, Vice President Dick Cheney and others in the administration were chortling that Bush had received a mandate from voters on Nov. 2. That would have been laughable if the news media weren’t acting more like lapdogs than watchdogs. White House correspondents have been subjected to such intense spin from the White House that I expect their heads to fall off at any moment.

Researchers at Fairness and Accuracy in the Media (FAIR) have done an excellent job, as usual, debunking the idea that Bush received anything approaching a mandate. Their findings are posted on their Web site, www.fair.org.

Most troubling has been the eagerness of the media to lap up White House drivel. Journalists have parroted the White House’s “mandate” line so frequently and so consistently that it has become difficult to distinguish between the media and those inside the White House who scheme every day to exploit the media. Look how the “mandate” propaganda played out:

The Boston Globe – Senator Kerry’s hometown paper – wrote that Bush’s victory gives him “a clear mandate to advance a conservative agenda over the next four years.”

The Los Angeles Times observed, “Bush can claim a solid mandate of 51 percent of the vote.”

A USAToday headline proclaimed, “Clear Mandate Will Boost Bush’s Authority, Reach.”

The Washington Post said Bush received a “clearer mandate” this time around, as though Bush, with less popular votes than Gore in 2000, had a mandate four years ago.

Chris Matthews of MSNBC said, “President Bush wins the majority of the vote and a mandate for his second term.”

CNN’s Wolf Blitzer predicted that Bush is “going to say he’s got a mandate from the American people, and by all accounts he does.”

NPR’s Renee Montague said, “The president’s people are calling this a mandate. By any definition, I think you could call this a mandate.”

No, by any definition, you could this irresponsible reporting. Fifty-one percent is not a mandate. Bush won by only 3 percent. It is true that Bush received more votes than any winning candidate in history for president. It is equally true that more votes were cast against him than any winning candidate for president in history.

Looking at the re-election of incumbent presidents, Bush’s 51 percent of the vote pales by comparison. Ronald Reagan was re-elected in 1984 with 59 percent of the vote. Both Lyndon Johnson in 1964 and Richard Nixon in 1972 won with 61 percent of the vote –10 percent more than George W. Bush.

In fact, Bush’s margin of victory of the smallest for a sitting president since Woodrow Wilson was re-elected in 1916.

So much for a mandate.

What we have in the wake of Nov. 2 is a sharply divided electorate. We have a country that, according to one poll, selected a president primarily because of a concern for moral values. Yet, one of the most popular programs on TV this season is the racy “Desperate Housewives.”

American voters re-elected Bush last month even though they rated John Kerry, his Democratic opponent, more favorably on such issues as jobs, the economy and health care. They found Bush more likeable and felt he would do a better job fighting terrorism.

After the Supreme Court halted the vote count in Florida in 2000, leaving Bush with a minority of the popular vote, political observes predicted that with such a lack of mandate, Bush would try to govern closer to the center. Bush pushed an aggressive far-Right agenda, especially in his appointments to the federal courts and his opposition to affirmative action.

This time around, with a mere 3 percent margin of victory, Bush seems even more emboldened to continue his disastrous policies. Again, Bush has promised to unite the country. If the president wants to be true to his word, he can start by not misinterpreting the will of the American people. He was not given a mandate – he was given another four-year lease on 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue to serve the people – all of the people.