The crowds outside the county elections office are likely to grow as the process drags on, but so far they have been manageable, police say. Many of the protesters are regulars who have learned to mug for the cameras - giving the impression that they are more numerous than they really are. And even though passions run high and more than a few insults have been slung across the street between Gore supporters and Bush supporters, there is probably more bark than bite. According to John Burke, a publicist for the city of West Palm Beach, most of the people who live here came to escape the stress that permeates other cities. That attitude carries over to opinions about the ballot confusion.
Many people seem annoyed and embarrassed by all the national attention.
They hope it will go away soon. At least one person, however, seems be finding a bright side. On the front is a tangled caricature of the butterfly ballot. To the outside world, the scene may be hard to understand. Aoki Nobuyuki, a Japanese newspaper reporter, is one of the dozens of international correspondents who have descended on West Palm Beach.