In Elections Since 1896, Obama Ranks 22nd Out of 30 in Size of Electoral College Majority

O's so-called "mandate" election doesn't seem all that impressive in historical context. See John Pitney, "Obama's Electoral Vote in Historical Perspective":

The 2012 race was the thirtieth presidential contest since 1896, which many scholars use as the beginning of "modern politics." If we look at those 30 contests, we find that the mean winning percentage of the electoral vote is 73.43% and the median is 71.27%.

In other words, President Obama's share of the electoral vote is below average for winning candidates. It ranks twenty-second out of thirty.

The data are displayed at the post.