Attempting to squeeze the maximum amount of suspense out of this election, and perhaps make President Bush look as illegitimate as is now possible, the media has characterized this as another squeaker election. This comment from a Reuters correspondent is typical:

"Democratic challenger John Kerry conceded in an extraordinarily close presidential election, buoying Wall Street with the certainty that there would not be a repeat of the 2000 election fiasco."

So we want it recorded here: Mr. Bush won with a margin of over 3,500,000 votes, and a total of almost 60 million votes cast for him -- more than have ever been cast for any other candidate in American history.

That is no squeaker; that is a mandate.