So, this election will be going on for four years. That is quite obvious. Regardless which one is "put" in office, 50 percent of the people will think the election was stolen.

It doesn't matter who's at the wheel, they will be doubted, questioned, ridiculed, and investigated. There will be no consesus on any subject worth discussing. The news media will be completely cynical or giddy, depending on the label of the leader.

The Executive and Legislative branches will not be able to accomplish anything. There will be division and strife.

Sound possible? Probable?

Who suffers? The American people. The laws of our country. The prosperity of certainty. Who benefits? Every enemy we ever had, or will have. With such indecision and impotence we shall see in American polotics, countries can be overrun, wars can be fought, and dictators can rise to power, all before a bill can be introduced, let alone approved.

Can we do anything at this point to rectify what has already happened?

-- Three Decades Army (hood@thunk.it), November 20, 2000

Answers

Can we do anything at this point to rectify what has already happened?

There needs to be manual recount in all the counties in Florida. It's the only I way I can see the Florida results having legitimacy with both parties.

-- (recount@em.all), November 20, 2000.

Three: >> With such indecision and impotence we shall see in American politics, countries can be overrun, wars can be fought, and dictators can rise to power, all before a bill can be introduced, let alone approved. <<

While I sympathize with your despair, no nation on earth is strong enough to "overrun" the USA - they would have no base of operations from which to stage their ground attack. Surely not Canada. Nor Mexico. Also, in the face of an aggressive war, this country would close ranks instantly behind anyone in the White House. As with Pearl Harbor, it would only take a matter of hours.

A war against one of our more peripheral allies might possibly have a prayer of success while we are distracted by internal dissension.

As for the rise of a dictator - only the presence of a real or imagined immediate danger could put that one over. The very dissension that you foresee would ensure vigorous opposition at every step to the accumulation of power by any party or individual.

>> Can we do anything at this point to rectify what has already happened? <<

Individually, we can try not to participate in or cooperate with the demonization of the opposition. All sides have legitimate interests and are defending them. Demand moderation and believe in the honor of the other side.

Honor is difficult. It requires patience and endurance. If your opponents can gain no recognition for their honorable actions, they have zero incentive to act honorably. If no matter what they do, they are defamed for it, they may as well resort to infamy and be done.

Don't reward nastiness with your tacit support. Demand civility. Show folks the right way by example. Run for office yourself if you must.

recount: >> There needs to be manual recount in all the counties in Florida. It's the only I way I can see the Florida results having legitimacy with both parties. <<

The manual recount process has been so artfully attacked and reviled by the Bush campaign that even this solution would not confer legitimacy on a Gore victory in the eyes of most Bush partisans.

-- Brian McLaughlin (brianm@ims.com), November 20, 2000.

There's a bright side, though: while they're all fighting each other in Washington, they'll be out of our hair for at least two years.

-- I'm Here, I'm There (I'm Everywhere@so.beware), November 20, 2000.

Well-said, Brian.

You, too, I'm Here :-)

-- Patricia (PatriciaS@lasvegas.com), November 20, 2000.

The only winners,if you can call them that,are the networks and their ratings.

-- capnfun (capnfun1@excite.com), November 20, 2000.

Well, I for one would regard a hand recount of the entire state as lending legitimacy to the winner, provided we could have some reasonable assurance that the same rules for ballot interpretation were followed statewide. I suggest that one representative of each party vote on every ambiguous ballot, and all 1-1 votes mean the ballot is discarded. That should be fair enough.

But the American public has a very short memory, lasting not much longer than back to what was on Oprah today. Once one or the other is sworn in, we'll be back to the same process of both sides taking credit for whatever goes right and blaming the opposition for whatever doesn't. The deadlocked legislature is to everyone's benefit, whether they realize it or not, because that government is best that governs least (all else being equal), and this one will govern least.

-- Flint (flintc@mindspring.com), November 20, 2000.

And the winner is:

Hillary Clinton

-- I (h@ve.spoken), November 20, 2000.