For all intents and purposes, the Presidential election of 2000 is over, and George W. Bush will be the next President of the United States.
The legal and political clashes and challenges in Florida and in Washington, D.C., reveal that the country is deeply divided. Only half of the electorate voted for President, and of those, half voted for Bush and half for Gore. The difference between the number who voted for either man is statistically insignificant. Every step of the way, decisions were made along partisan lines, always deeply divided. The 4-3 decision by the Florida Supreme Court, the 7-2 decision by the United States Supreme Court, the decisions made by the Florida Secretary of State, the vote by the Florida House of Representatives, the decisions by the county canvassing committees, all were made essentially, consistently, along party lines. In the end, Bush won, at least to some degree, because all the final arbiters were Republican, and construed the law in a way which was favorable to Bush. This is not to say that the decisions were strictly partisan, but it would be foolish to ignore the fact that politics informed the decision making process.
The deep division has caused terrible rancor. Democrats are threatening to do whatever they can to tarnish Bush and make the Republicans pay, politically.
I think what really happened is that extremists from both sides have taken over the parties, and the middle has become disaffected. We must come together and find our common ground for the good of the nation.
How? Suggestions welcomed. Good suggestions will be forwarded to the transition team, and maybe someone will read them. |
