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Este informe no está disponible en español. King FeaturesGiving Thanks For The Electionby ROGER HERNANDEZNovember 22, 2000 Hard to tell whether the election mess election is going to make the public more cynical about politics, or more interested. What will they make of the Wise Men called in to lend gravity to the occasion, the gray eminences -- the Warren Christophers, the James Bakers -- who became Wise Guys putting on brass knuckles to lead a mob of lawyers into a battle where dignity is trampled and partisan spin is the only thing that matters. Hard to believe anybody is fooled by the claim that it was all done to defend The Will of The People. To Bush's forces the people's will is best defended by stopping while he's ahead, no matter how many votes go uncounted. Gore's forces defend it by not quitting until their man is up, no matter how many recounts it takes, under ever-changing rules invented on the fly by local Democratic hacks. "The importance of getting it right outweighs the importance of rushing to judgment," says Christopher, to whom recounts and re-recounts are an essential part of democracy. "It's all subjective, and therefore it presents terrible problems of human error and potential for mischief," says Baker, to whom recounts and re-recounts present a grievous harm to democracy. Does anybody doubt for even one second that if the situation were reversed, with Bush needing an "accurate" count and Gore needing a "rapid" count, Messrs. Baker and Christopher would be saying the exact opposite of what they are saying now? Actually, it did happen that way. When the Florida absentee votes came in, dominated by pro-Bush military personnel overseas, Democrats looked for ways to disqualify ballots and end the counting quickly while Republicans demanded every single vote be counted and recounted if need be. If the hypocrisy on both sides wasn't clear then... All we need now is to see the graybeards dive under a table at some ballot-counting room to grab a loose chad. Well, they probably have aides to do that. But what great video it would make for the 6 o'clock news. Americans, in fact, are eating it up. We love it. One survey showed the story is being followed by more people more than the trial of O.J. or the death of Princess Diana. Keeping up with the twist and turns in the Bush-Gore battle has become an American spectator sport. Maybe the tightness of the election will make people decide that each individual vote is of great importance, and turnout will go through the roof in the next election. Or maybe the cynicism of just about everyone involved will discourage even more voters, and turnout next election will hit an all-time low. I don't know. But I do know this: Nobody is worried. There is utter, complete trust that after all the excitement is over, life will go on just as before. "There is a lesson in this and I would simply say that I think this country is totally resilient, totally strong," said George Bush, the father. "Leaving out who wins or loses, this country will be just fine." Poppy Bush is right. So right, in fact, that most Americans do not even see it. The political stability of this nation is so taken for granted that the notion it could be endangered by a mere election dispute is just not a concern. Some of us came from countries where there are no elections at all, never mind messy ones. Many of us come from countries where an election as contested as this one raises worries about a total institutional breakdown, about the rabble storming the palace, about the military stepping in "to restore order." Here, such thoughts are so unthinkable nobody is even thinking them. We came here to escape all that. American politics, as full of hypocrisy, cynicism and misguided self-interest as it has shown itself to be these past two weeks, is fundamentally sound. People are angry, but there are no crowds waiting to besiege the White House. The army -- it seems ludicrous even to say it -- is going to stay put. The crisis will be resolved in time for inauguration on January 20. And there will be another presidential election four years from now. Maybe even without an Electoral College to get in the way. Yawn. For such ordinary certainties, many of us give thanks this season.
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