It takes a squeaker election every few decades to remind us that the act of casting a ballot is a solemn part of living in a democracy.
Every vote counts.
It's an old adage that becomes tired and worn over time as we experience local elections settled not by one vote, but by thousands, state elections settled by hundreds of thousands and national elections settled by tens of millions. It had been 24 years since we've had a presidential election where the winner wasn't known before the polls closed on the West Coast. Then there was Tuesday night. George W. Bush was leading Al Gore by 1,784 votes after Florida's Tuesday count. Here in Washington state, the latest results give U.S. Sen. Slade Gorton about a 3,000-vote lead over Maria Cantwell with more than 1.6 million votes counted.