Oh please Mr. Its a shame. Giving up personal freedoms? Who are you really, the liberal Ms. Barbra Streisand? or Rosie O'Donnell? <BR> <BR>It's amazing how many people dislike Gore... This should have been a shoo in for him.

I am glad your country is not run with the same inefficiency you organise an election! NOT a good idea to give the name of the winner TWICE before all the votes have been counted.

Al brought up a good point, and the posts on this thread highlight it even more. Neither candidate is championed because of his policies - instead, the 'other guy' is slammed. "Don't vote for Bush because he's a spoiled brat" "Don't vote for Gore because he'll take all our money in taxes"... in other words, don't vote for the other guy because he sucks, so by default, you have to vote for my guy. Now there's a way to elect a president. Who was it who said "people get the government they deserve"? <BR> <BR>

If anything, this election proves that the electoral college has really lived past its time.

Unless I'm mistaken, it's way too late for US citizens abroad to vote. They should have sent in absentee ballots long since. For those of you Floridians out of the country, I hope you voted, and voted for Gore -- but I suspect you didn't.

G-d, I love elections and the election process! Yes, it is too late for anyone to vote. According to CNN, Florida has to have all of the ballots counted by close of business tomorrow. However, there are problems with a possible missing ballot box, and many seniors in Palm Beach who supposedly inadvertently voted for Pat Buchanan instead of Al Gore due to the way the ballot was set up.

I'm seriously thinking about learning to teach english abroad if GWBush becomes President. When I hear Midwestern women saying that they're voting for Bush because he's cute - I can't help but feel that a lot of Americans are morons and thus our President should be one too. Dumb, Dumber, Dubya. Sorry, no name and no email - I'm not intersted in being attacked my a bunch a emascualted white males who missed out in the greedy 80s decade. Remember - it was Pappa Bush and Ronald Tatter Tots for Brains' Reagan who put us in into a recession in the late 80s, early 90s.

Ilisa, <BR>Missing ballot box? <BR>Called my girlfriend in the Atlanta area last night and she said that on her ballot the ONLY options for president were Bush, Gore, and Buchanan. No Nader, no write in, nothing!!! I made her call the newspapers to check it out...they said they didn't know anything about it and that it was "worth looking into"... lol <BR>What a mess! (and yes, I'm a Florida Nader voter...)

Yes, a locked ballot box was found in a precinct (can't remember where). It is on its way to Tallahassee. This is a complete mess and very suspicious, in my opinion.

Wow: <BR>This starting to smell like scandal. <BR>I guess no one believed that this would be such a close election that "a few missing votes" would matter. I an very interested to see what happens. How many other missing locked ballot boxes are lying around in the other 49 states? Talk about"Bush-whacked"!! <BR>Just a thought!

The locked ballot box has been opened and found to contain supplies, not missing ballots. End of controversy.

<BR>The media at it again!

I was president? Gee, I forgot about that, but it seems that I slept through all of it, and now of course I can't remember it anyway.

"At" what? People turned in a locked ballot box that was found in a polling place and that sounded like it might have ballots it. That's news, especially in an election this tight. The media reported it. When it was found *not* to contain ballots, they reported that. <BR> <BR>So what are they "at" in this case exactly, Annie, other than doing their job...which is reporting the news? <BR> <BR>I'm on pins and needles over this election, but at least one good thing may come out of all the confusion --people are actually paying attention, and caring. Somebody commented, "Hey, this is more exciting than the Super Bowl!" If ever anyone thought that their vote didn't count, this election should have proved them wrong. <BR>

For what it's worth: <BR>Overseas registered voters (evidently largely servicemen/women) had to have their ballots "postmarked" by 11/7; therefore these ballots will not be received potentially until next week. <BR>To the Texans who are feel they know Bush too well & are agin him: evidently Tennessee (and Arkansas) feel the same about their "native sons". <BR>To "It is a shame": If Gore wins popular vote by 200,000, it hardly means that the "voting public clearly wanted him", since that's an excess of 2/1000 of those who voted so far! (which includes the homeless purchased with cigarettes & the union workers who negotiated an entire day off with pay to go vote!) <BR>Check the electoral map: Gore won in woefully few locations, despite his "home team/strong economy" advantage; tell me again that a few geographic pockets should choose for us all. <BR>To the Europeans: Yes, it is a shame that someone so bright is not perhaps elected. However, the current "smart one" has so alienated many of us with continual lies and deceptions that someone more straightforward seems a welcome change. Plus, the current administration is trying too hard to drive us away from a country where, if I work hard, I can (and did) make good, into a country where we are taxed into disinclination to further ourselves, PLUS made to believe that salting funds away to care for our "own selves" in blissful retirement won't happen, because my government is going to make darn sure that they help me run my medical care and finances the way they know best! Seems to me there's enough socialist countries in the world already. <BR>Respectfully submitted as one person's opinions -- now, I think I'll get back to reading about Europe!

<BR>The media has gone a bit overboard here, Gina. I am really concerned when the networks have to keep hopscotching Gore, no Bush, Wait we made a mistake. Bush, no Gore. Wait, are you sure? No, are you? <BR>Wait, we have another tidbit to broadcast to death. <BR>Are you sure? No, are you? But let's drive the American Public a bit more crazy! Any other tidbits?? <BR> <BR>My friends out on the West Coast have really been disillusioned as to whether their votes ever really matter. As they get home from work and head out to vote, the media has already started declaring a Projected Winner. Some times it becomes a 'why bother'. As we have seen it really does matter. <BR>Just my two cents.

This may not be the last presidential race between Bush and Gore. Regardless of who wins, the results were so close that the loser will be regarded as a highly credible and competitive candidate to challenge the winner in 2004. Mondale, Dukakis and Dole suffered blowouts that promptly ended any future national political role. Not so with the loser of this election. <BR> <BR>I suspect that Bush will win because recounts generally do not overturn election results, although the closer the outcome the greater the chance that a reversal might occur. The odds are just as great that Gore will come out further behind than that he will close the gap. <BR> <BR>One thing is certain, supporters of the losing side (Bush or Gore) will moan and groan about how the system is flawed. Just because your guy loses, doesn't mean that the system is flawed.

Joann, thanks for a well reasoned post. Perhaps none of us should be reading or replying to this thread (b/c this is not a political forum, it is a travel forum), but I was sucked in, too. Having said that, I was dismayed that our typically intelligent participants were reduced to name calling. Even if someone does not completely agree with Joann's post, I would think they would respect your comments. So thank you for raising the Fodor's intelligence bar up a notch or two again.

Ok I'm lost Steve because I didn't see any name calling or anyone going-after anyone else, which has been a commonality on this site lately,unfortunately . I've only seen people give their opinions about the state of the union without argument, although you're right, this is a travel forum and not a political forum.

Joann's post may have lacked fiery rhetoric but that doesn't mean it was reasoned. These pious Republicans who claim to be sick to death of things that Democrats do would have us believe Republicans don't lie and if they did, well then, of COURSE these righteous Republicans would vote for their opponents, right? Nonsense. I would love to have the Joann's of this era time-traveled back to the Nixon era and see if they don't start howling about how poor tricky Dick's behavior was distorted and vilified by those evil Democrats -- "he never lied, oh no, he was framed." Same shoe, different foot. <BR> <BR>Politicians lie, but at least some of them think. Frankly, the result of all this is that the US political scene will be in gridlock for the next 4 years and nothing will get done. <BR> <BR>What will make the difference isn't who's in the oval office, it will be whom he names to his staff and cabinet and how they work with Congress. <BR> <BR>When I think of what could happen to my retirement money, health care money, education, and the environment, I guess I should be grateful for the gridlock. <BR> <BR>But BTW: Gore is so far from being socialist that he's only separated from Bush by a notch or two. Anyone trying to call him or any mainstream Democrat a socialist is absolutely clueless about what socialism is, or maybe what Democrats are in this day and age. <BR> <BR>To Thanks, Ralph: Take a look at the votes for the other 3rd party candidates who ran in Fla. Voters for any one of them (except the Socialist candidate) could have made the difference.