Democrats staged rancorous rallies and picketed premises where votes were being hand-counted. A week ago, I was ready to throw in the towel. Now, I don't care what happens. Through it all, neither George W. Bush nor Al Gore seemed overly concerned about the people whose reputations were impugned or the institutions whose legitimacy was compromised. Neither considered the national interest except in the self-justifying sense of assuming that the nation would be better off if he were president than if his opponent gained the office.
Normal campaigns are no picnic, of course.
But at least candidates are accountable for what transpires when voters go to the polls. But after election day, the only constraint operating on these two men was the possibility that a segment of the public would harbor negative feelings toward them when one or the other became president. Both concluded that the risk was worth it. The American public soon forgets even if it doesn't entirely forgive, as it did Clinton's reckless White House liaison and the House Republicans' equally reckless impeachment. Nor did any other political player have the incentive or stature to find a workable compromise or dissuade either side from its excesses.