Ever since it became apparent that Republican George W. Bush might actually win the presidency, liberals in the entertainment news business, in the punditry, on the talking-heads circuit and in the halls of power have suggested that a Bush victory might be Pyrrhic -- that the amiable Texas governor will have "no mandate to govern" because the race was "so close."

There are many reasons why such idiotic statements are untrue and why those making them are probably just expressing liberal antipathy over Gore's loss, over conservative gains and over having to watch timidly as the next administration disinfects the White House from top to bottom.

Call it the "sore loser" defense, or, rather, the "Sore-Loserman" defense, if you will. Whatever. No matter what you call it, the whining over Bush's "non-mandate" to govern is little more than overhyped rhetoric designed to undermine, undercut and underestimate Bush's legitimate election victory.

A quick check of a few facts will illustrate this:

• First, the population of the counties won by Bush outnumbers those won by Gore by 16 million people, 143 million to 127 million.

• Next, the total square miles of country won by Gore is just 580,000; Bush won nearly 2.5 million square miles of country.

• Bush won 10 more states than Gore -- 30 to 20 (giving Gore Oregon and Bush Florida).

• And here's an interesting public policy side note: The average murder rate per 100,000 in counties won by Gore is 13.2; the rate per 100,000 in counties won by Bush is an encouraging 2.1.

Some also say that Gore has 19,000 more idiots in Florida supporting him than Bush, if you count "undervoters" who don't have the physical or mental capacity to punch a ballot.

And speaking of "mandates," only liberals thought President Clinton had one, though he won smaller percentages of the national vote in elections where smaller numbers of voters cast ballots. Some "mandate."

These are all important facts to note on this, the day electors are named to the Electoral College. But there are others:

• First, Bush has the "mandate" of law on his side and has had it throughout this month-long election mess. I realize liberals don't care much for the rule of law, especially when it goes against them, but "ignorance of the law is no excuse" and, as I believe will happen, the courts will eventually teach liberals -- and Gore, too, for that matter -- that there is a "controlling legal authority" in federal elections for president.

• Legally, realistically, and honestly speaking, the Texas governor has won every single lawful, legitimate vote count in the state of Florida. Bush has even won some of the previously illegal recounts, though the entertainment news industry doesn't publicize that fact very much. Granted, this doesn't take into consideration the many "recounts" mandated by liberal Florida courts in violation of state law, but the liberals think those are just as valid. They are not.

• Bush also has the "mandate" of public opinion on his side. Poll after poll taken in the weeks following the election have shown that Americans believe Bush has won, that Gore should concede, and that the country needs to move on and inaugurate its next administration.

• Some Democratic lawmakers even believe Bush has won and no further legal examinations are warranted. Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice Charles Wells believes this, and at least five of the nine U.S. Supreme Court justices also believe it. So do a number of lower federal and state courts.

Still, a shrinking core of diehard liberals that refuse to accept reality -- this small group includes the vice president, by the way -- want to continue to haggle over an election that is no longer a haggling matter.

Inevitably, Bush will be given his rightful presidency and the liberals will be free to launch a political jihad designed to undermine the Bush administration for the next four to eight years.

What liberals don't realize, however, is that fewer and fewer people will listen to them, pay them heed, or believe the lie that Bush has "no mandate" to govern.

The people have spoken, and they have -- albeit narrowly -- given George W. Bush all the mandate he needs to be the leader of the free world.