Vice President Cheney pushes the mandate claim again:

Asked if he believes the president’s election victory was a mandate from voters for his Social Security plans, Cheney answered: “I think so – I think for the notion of personal retirement accounts.”

Said Cheney: “I think (for) people who thought about it, focused on it, there was no question about where (Bush) stood, no question about what he believed. Now we’re engaged in the debate. We’re doing exactly what we said we would do.”

NBC News/Wall Street Journal Poll conducted by the polling organizations of Peter Hart (D) and Bill McInturff (R). Jan. 13-17, 2005. N=1,007 adults nationwide. MoE ± 3.1 (for all adults):

In winning the presidential election, President Bush says that the voters gave him a mandate — meaning he believes that the voters have backed his positions on the issues and want him to pursue policies that he advocated during the campaign. Speaking for yourself, do you think that President Bush has a mandate from the voters to allow workers to invest some of their Social Security taxes in the stock market?

Has a mandate – 33%
Does not – 56%
Depends (vol.) – 2%
Unsure – 9%