There are a lot more Americans today, then in Reagan's day and that means a lot more voters.
PresBush`s solid victory in 2004 and the GOP's Congressional pickups give the Republican Party a mandate to lead for at least the next two years. But Bush`s victory doesn't measure up to PresReagan's landslide victories of 1980 and 1984. What's great about about Bush getting 51%, is that it surpasses Clinton's 43% in 1992 and 49% in 1996. Clinton was a minority President, who was forced to play ball with Republicans. So far, Bush43 is wasting no time.
"But Bush`s victory doesn't measure up to PresReagan's landslide victories of 1980 and 1984."
I'm a big Reagan fan (worked on his campaigns as far back as 1976), but Reagan's victory in 1984 was more personal than party. As I recall, the Republicans lost seats in both the House and the Senate. This contrasts with Pres. Bush's stunning successes in 2004 and 2002. He is the first President since FDR in 1936 to gain seats in both houses of Congress while running for re-election. Pres. Bush is also the first President in a very long time to pick up seats in the House and the Senate in the off-year (2002) and general (2004) elections.