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opinion:
our view
Three more years
to election day
Hanging chads. Katherine Harris.
Hand recounts. Broward County.
Ah, memories.
It's been just over a year since our nation's election debacle
got off to a roaring start. Remember when Al Gore was declared
the winner in Florida, complete with its 25 electoral votes,
by media outlets on election night, then had those votes ripped
from under him hours later?
Remember when the entire United States was focusing on who
would be our new president as we waiting for the "too
close to call" states figure out exactly who could claim
their electoral votes.
Remember when it was OK to make fun of America or the gaudy
face of Harris?
Daily changes in the election's status. One day, Bush was
the winner; the next, it was Gore. Bush. Gore. Dubya. Al.
Who would emerge victorious?
Gee, was that only a year ago?
The whole fiasco finally ended with Bush being declared the
"winner." We now are privy to Bush's down-home words
like "folks" and his twangy "God bless America's"
on a regular basis. Gore? He practically has disappeared.
The only news we hear on him following the decision concerns
his new gig as a college professor or how he grew a beard.
For Bush, we get updates on his next move in America's war
against terrorism. For Gore, we get updates on his facial
hair.
A few votes the other way -- or just one from a Supreme Court
Justice -- and we would be receiving updates on the status
of Dubya's new goatee and watching Al lead us through this
unprecedented time.
The point: it really wouldn't have matter either way; after
all, Gore and Bush are politicians who, despite claiming different
political parties, were not really that much different. Bush
currently has a huge approval rating. Gore would have had
the same. In times of war, approval ratings soar, and it doesn't
really matter who is in charge.
What was different was the manner in which one of them became
the leader of the free world. Watching the unbelievable events
transpire following the November election was at the same
time entertaining and pathetic. Our election process had become
a mockery -- which it probably always had been -- while the
nation, and the world, watched.
The fact Bush was elected primarily on a technicality is mostly
forgotten. It shouldn't be. Never again can votes not count
for reasons unknown. Never again should an obscure politician
like Harris play such a prominent role in the selection of
a president. Never again can these mistakes be made.
Electronic voting. A national voting holiday. A limit on the
heavy influence of the media. Whatever it takes, just fix
it. We've got three years until America elects a new president.
If we can't fix the process, would we just be better off if
the candidates played a game of rock-scissors-paper to decide
a winner?
Think about it: if they had just done that in the beginning,
we could be talking about the approval rating of President
Nader right now.
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