Over at the White House, however, there's no sense of defensiveness. And Congress can do some other things that cost zippo, such as establishing national standards for recounts. But some of the problems highlighted in Florida will cost millions to fix. You can argue over whether the federal government or localities should pick up the tab for new voting equipment. Yet few are opposed to stepped-up law enforcement when it comes to intimidation of minority voters or unfair handling of military voters.
Talk is cheap.
And indifference is dangerous, especially to the prospect of a second term for a President who won the election but came in second in the popular vote. Truth is, Bush has little to lose and much to gain from promoting voting reforms. By ignoring a problem important to many voters, Bush and Republican leaders on Capitol Hill could be making a costly mistake. Dunham is a White House correspondent for BusinessWeek 's Washington bureau. The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. All rights reserved.