Next week at this time, we'll have a new president-elect. And if we pull this off and our candidate wins this thing, it has got to be by a substantial margin. So there are two serious challenges here: 1) win, and 2) win by a lot.
One of the far-right's best attacks on President Clinton's leadership was his 42-percent popular vote victory. Without a governing mandate, President Clinton was beholden to Congress and was unable to successfully pursue his agenda which eventually led to him moving to the right.
Senator Obama absolutely needs a mandate in the mid-50s in order to govern, yes, and to govern the way he wants to. That is, to keep the congressional Democrats, especially the blue dogs, on-board and on-message with the Obama agenda (rather than constantly leaving the reservation), and to simply begin his would-be presidency with a popular margin.
McCain's campaign is mess and there's nothing more awesome than watching Republicans crush each other with their stupid. But if Senator Obama, despite the economy, despite his fundraising, despite his historical campaign, is only able to win by +2 or +3 against the current Mr. Magoo Republican clown car, the Obama administration will be hamstrung from the outset.