the street.com's joe deaux joins us. one thing you may not be hearing late on election night is the m- word. mandate. it's tradition that the winners of an election claim to have the american people on their side. but if this election is as close as the polls predict, there will be no mandate for either side. darren gersh reports. >> reporter: unless all those polls are wrong and tomorrow brings a big surprise one way or another, this election will be the remembered as one of the closest in history. it could also end with both parties convinced the folks back home don't want them to compromise on key issues like taxes and fairness and the size of government. >> there is going to be enough room for both sides to claim that they have the mantle from the american public or that nobody does and i think that hurts the issues on the fiscal cliff. >> reporter: if the president prevails tomorrow, he will be one of the only incumbents to win re-election with fewer votes than he got in his first campaign for the white house. if ro