For all of the talk about George W. Bush's mandate and political capital, the polling indicates that the American people are as divided about the President as they were when he first took office after losing the popular vote. Richard Morin and Dan Balz write about the most recent Washington Post/ABC News poll indicating this trend on page one of Tuesday's paper.

President Bush will begin his second term in office without a clear mandate to lead the nation, with strong disapproval of his policies in Iraq and with the public both hopeful and dubious about his leadership on the issues that will dominate his agenda, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll.

On the eve of Thursday's presidential inaugural ceremonies, the survey found few signs that the country has begun to come together since Bush defeated Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) two months ago. The president has claimed a mandate from the election, but the poll found as much division today as four years ago over the question of whether Bush or Democrats in Congress should set the direction for the country.

Fewer than half of those interviewed -- 45 percent -- said they preferred that the country go in the direction that Bush wanted to lead it, whereas 39 percent said Democrats should lead the way. During the first months of his presidency, after the bitterly disputed 2000 election, Americans said they preferred Bush to take the lead by 46 percent to 36 percent.

Regardless of any claims made by the PR department of this administration (and this includes talking heads on Fox News and other such surrogates), the President does not have a mandate. Even on the issue of Social Security, a program that the President has claimed is in a "crisis," Bush is opposed by a majority of Americans. Perhaps it's time for the mainstream media to realize this in their coverage of the administration's attempts at overreaching.