But, along about the middle of 1973, when I was watching the the Watergate hearings during school vacation, I came to realize that Nixon was, indeed, guilty. In spite of massive amounts of evidence, it took most Republicans another year to come to the conclusion that Nixon was guilty and had to go. And now, in the late '90s, we have the problems with government in a divided and increasingly hostile political environment. I've been extremely disappointed by the behavior of the Republicans since the election's lack of finality, but the Democrats haven't been much better. While this is a pivotal moment in our still fairly young democracy, it would be so much better if people could sit and talk about what's best for the country rather than worrying about what's best for their party.
Reasonable people can disagree.
The Democrats should go back, read their history, and take comfort in the fact that the loosing party in a disputed election almost always wins the next one. Based on historical precedence, George W. Bush will probably only serve one term. In the meantime, I wish the Republicans and Democrats had talked in person and directly rather than via dueling news conferences in the weeks after the fall of 2000 election. America needs people who show they know something about coalitions and concensus, two things sorely lacking on the Federal level these days. And I hope George W. Bush and Al Gore have a long talk some day very soon.