Gloating conservative writers like Cal Thomas notwithstanding, a few percentage points in the electorate does not constitute a mandate for radical reform of the sort we can expect from President Bush and the Congress. And in fact, there’s plenty of evidence that the public doesn’t really want radical reform, like the destruction of New Deal and Great Society programs.

(In fact, there’s a significant body of evidence that suggests the public doesn’t know what it’s getting. See, e.g., the recent report from the Program on International Policy Attitudes.)

But, even supposing that Bush’s supporters do want radical reform, it seems to me that enacting radical reform with only half the electorate on board seems like a recipe for intensified division in the country. It would make more sense to me to take a more measured approach than George Bush is likely to, or than Cal Thomas and his ilk would like him to.

President Bush called for healing and unity, Cal Thomas is calling for the opposite.