Jessica Lee

Unanswered prayers may be a liberal blessing

Election night I stayed awake until 3 a.m., not partying or studying, but silently praying (and I am not a religious person). I was hoping that I would not have to eat my words: "If Bush wins, I am going to drop out of school and lobby for the EPA."

But, I am still here.

The next four years might be nothing but a bunch of "what ifs" and "maybes" as we watch President Bush handle our country. What if Al Gore had been elected, maybe we would still be committed to the Kyoto Treaty.

Maybe we would not be pissing off the entire world by our egotistical policies.

Maybe this was the lesson our country needed. We saw what happens when the media rules and not everyone votes.

And although I'm still feeling uneasy, I am now optimistic. Maybe the Bush regime will cause great things - not directly by his actions, but by the public backlash from his principles.

His anti-environmental and pro-life views might slingshot both movements farther than they would have if Gore had been chosen in Florida.

Every American can now be an activist against something Bush does. Maybe the election outcome will incite a great social enlightenment that will crush big business.

It is an exciting time to be a citizen of the United States. It is our chance to stand up for what we truly believe in.

The stars and stripes have taken on new meaning.

Jessica Lee is an environmental science sophomore. She can be reached at perspectives@wildcat.arizona.edu.

Laura Winsky

Kathleen Harris cast my vote

At 3 a.m., I sat in my bed, wringing my hands, waiting for Gore to concede. I was beside myself. My reproductive rights were giving me pains, my lungs were gasping for a few last environmentally clean breaths and my head was pounding as tax plans did twirls in my head.

Bush was about to take office. The Democratic Party had blown it. They had an intelligent, experienced incumbent running for office, and they blew it. They had disenfranchised the left and thrown too many voters to the willing Ralph Nader.

But there was more. As I waited that night for hours on end as Florida did a dance between its Democratic and Republican swing partners, so much more took place behind the scenes. Little did I, nor the rest of the nation, realize that Bush's brother was running the state in contention and his campaign manager was setting the rules.

Democracy was about to fall apart. Days wore on with recounts and lies, statistics and threats. It was revealed that specific African American districts had been denied the vote, and Democrats knew it was over. The conspiracy would win.

No matter. Democracy will have its way in 2004.

Laura Winsky is a political science senior also majoring in Spanish. She can be reached at perspectives@wildcat.arizona.edu.

Tom McDermott

Bush the real victor? No doubt about it

The 2000 Election was one of the rare moments in history you will have the privilege of telling your grandchildren you were around to witness. The suspense of a possible constitutional crisis not seen since 1876 was enough to keep a political junkie like myself up for several nights. But thankfully, in the end, the Constitution won the day over the roar of the mob.

First, we heard calls for re-votes because people just couldn't understand instructions printed in big block letters. Then we heard the butterfly ballot compared to slavery and the Holocaust. Then we were informed that one recount of votes wasn't enough, at least not in the counties where the losing candidate was expected to do the best. Then we heard votes were going to be deciphered from "patterns" of voting elsewhere on the ballot.

And after all the votes were recounted, Governor Bush remained victorious. But then the bomb was dropped. With wanton disregard for the state legislature's constitutional authority to direct the manner by which electors are appointed, the Florida Supreme Court essentially ordered its own recount.

Thankfully, the Supreme Court took the appropriate action in striking down that decision on the basis of the obvious equal protection violation inherent in allowing wildly dissimilar judging standards to be applied to similarly situated voters.

There can be no doubt that the man who rightfully won the election now sits in the Oval Office.

Tom McDermott is a UA law student. He can be reached at perspectives@wildcat.arizona.edu.

Cory Spiller

It's time for popular sovereignty

A man that did not receive the popular support of our country won the presidency this year. Whether or not he legitimately won the electoral votes in Florida is irrelevant - most of the people in this country wanted someone else to be president.

The Electoral College, the deciding body of this election, is an outdated system that speaks of the government's distrust of the American people. It should be erased from our electoral system, and we should rely only on the wishes of the majority.

The Electoral College gives voters in smaller states an unfair advantage, because they not only get the votes of their congressmen but also their senators. The current system allows the votes of the people in New Mexico to count almost twice as much as the people in California.

It's important in the legislature to give this advantage to smaller states, but in the presidential election, everyone's vote should count the same.

Furthermore, the Electoral College promotes the winner-take-all system, which lumps all of the votes from a state together and gives them to the victor. When all was said and done, the votes for Gore in Florida were completely ignored. Bush got all 25 electoral votes, when proportionally he should have only received maybe 13, if that.

The Electoral College allows for manipulation and political wiggle room. The presidential election is far too important to be determined by a select body. Hopefully, we can get rid of it so future elections will not turn out like this year's.

Cory Spiller is a history and creative writing senior. He can be reached at perspectives@wildcat.arizona.edu.

A silver lining in the electoral debacle

Lora J. Mackel

Contrary to most liberal democrats I know, I can see the silver lining in the cloud that was the presidential election of 2000. Never before has the "my vote does not count" excuse been more refuted.

This was a close election, and each vote cast made a crucial difference.

Additionally, this election illustrated how outdated most of the voting equipment in this nation really is. The failures of the machines - and of the voters - will certainly make every voter more cognizant next time they go to the polls.

This election also highlighted the obvious problems our nation has in the campaign finance areas, and hopefully inspired more citizens to take a stand on a crucial issue in national politics.

It is really time for our country to start thinking seriously how its elections are won, and how money buys more access to politicians who are suppose to be representing everyone's interests.

Most people would look at last year's election debacle and be discouraged. However, I do not think I am the only one who feels the election mess put every citizen in intimate contact with the very real problems and issues inherent in our electoral system. The 2004 election will see a much wiser and more involved electorate.

Lora J. Mackel is a history senior. She can be reached at perspectives@wildcat.arizona.edu.