I know I'm a bit stuck on this line of questioning, but do you feel that as a Democrat, when Bush becomes president, you'll feel that it wasn't a fair result? Will there be a lot of residual anger? What will it take for the new president to reunify the country? How do you feel about the manual recount debate? Are you just fed up with the whole damn thing and just want to get on with it?

-- Anonymous, November 17, 2000

Answers

I won't feel that it wasn't fair, because I knew to begin with that there were a lot of people who would vote for him. For about three minutes I wondered if the Florida ballots were rigged, since Jeb's running the state and all, but then I figured that wasn't really plausible.

I don't see him reunifying the country. I see him being in charge while we have a recession, and then people voting Democrat the next time.

At this point, I'm more resigned than fed up.

-- Anonymous, November 17, 2000

I'm a Republican all the way, so I won't find it unfair at all. I think that Gore is being a sore loser. But you're probabably right about the risidual anger. I'll go as far as to say there may be some rioting in south Florida. I live in central Florida and it's pretty calm around here. As far as the manual recount goes, I think it's ridiculous. If those people in Palm Beach couldn't read the ballot, then they shouldn't be voting. Plain and simple. And yes, I'm fed up and ready for it to be over. Very much so.

-- Anonymous, November 17, 2000

BEST QUOTE OF THE DAY:

"YOU MEAN TO TELL ME THAT THOSE OLD LADIES IN PALM BEACH CAN PLAY 15 BINGO CARDS SIMULTANEOUSLY - BUT CAN'T PUNCH A BALLOT??!"

-- Anonymous, November 17, 2000

Although I'm a Republican, I've tried hard over the last 10 days to view this whole situation through non-partisan lenses. One thing I can't stand is someone who can't be objective, so I try to do it as much as possible, myself. I believe Bush will become President. When that happens, my opinion, based on my understanding of the laws at play and the decisions being made upon those laws, is that will be a fair result. I agree with the prediction of rioting in south Florida, although it should be mild. (Hell, I've been surprised before, so take that with a grain of salt. I will.)

No matter which candidate assumes the presidency, that person will have no mandate, simply because the election nationwide was so close. I've never seen the country so evenly split, almost 50-50. I believe Bush would have a better chance of success.

Either way it goes, I'm expecting a recession sometime in the next four years. I feel sorry for whomever has to govern the country during that time, because he will be blamed for it, unfairly. If it's Gore with a Republican Congress, he'll try to blame them. But it won't be the fault of either.

I'm not fed up with it, but I really want it to finish soon with a fair result. More than anything else, I'm disappointed that the Gore campaign decided it had to litigate the matter. I don't want to see a court-appointed President of the U.S.A. when the lawful vote should have been enough.

-- Anonymous, November 17, 2000

I have a hard time calling this "law-appointed" vote fair. So many weird things have happened in his election that I think it's impossible to tell who really has those few extra hundred votes. But I agree with your basic premise, Paul.

This race is so close that a victory for either side is totally meaningless. Really, they may as well flip a coin at this point. And I'm not being facetious about that.

-- Anonymous, November 17, 2000

Like everyone else, I just wish they'd get on with it. Then, when it's over, we'll be like the busy proctologist, who while very harried, still only has to look at one diseased asshole at a time. I'm a Democrat, but if it's Bush, okay. He'll be grist for my mill because he's such a doof. And when he fucks up...I'll be there with the popcorn. I'm going to keep a running list on how many foreign countries he'll manage to offend in one week by saying something so obviously stupid it's like fingernails on a blackboard to listen. You think the world got a laugh because Bill Clinton got his johnson honked in the Oval office, wait'll ol' Dubya gets in there. But because he's Republican, it'll be puritanical lapses. (Scandal without the fun or the titter.)

-- Anonymous, November 17, 2000

Good way to put it, Cate. Flip a coin already. Now we have to wait until Monday.

"Gentlemen, this is the coin. Here's the head side, here's the tail. Call it in the air..."

-- Anonymous, November 18, 2000

Has there been an official word yet? Flipping a coin would make just about as much sense right now. I wonder if Gore could fake Dubya out in the "rock, paper, scissors" game.

-- Anonymous, November 20, 2000

I think that dufus Bush is going to win. Maybe us humans will finally enter the solar system... God help us all.

-- Anonymous, November 21, 2000

I just want it to be over. I'm tired of losing all my money in the stock market, which probably won't go up until this damn thing is decided. (I hope).

-- Anonymous, November 21, 2000