Bruce,
I never claimed Obama had a mandate either, much less that he won in a "landslide."

What told me that the Bush administration was extremely unpopular during most of Dubya's second term was that opinion polls pretty consistently showed GWB's favorabiility rating to be under 30% and Cheney's often even under 20%.   
Now the media talking heads spin it as Obama being very unpopular when his approval rating drops into the mid- to low 40% range (even while the Republican Party's ratings are lower).