A house divided

Whoever is determined to be the winner of the U.S. Presidential election on November 2nd (or December 31st, or whenever the determination is made), he should realize what a tough crowd he's going to face. Whether it's Bush or Kerry, nearly as many people who cast ballots for the winner will have cast their ballots for the other guy. (And if it's a repeat of 2000, there will actually be more people who cast their votes for the other guy.)

In the second Presidential debate, George W. Bush was asked to name three mistakes he had made as President. He hemmed and hawed and offered a vague, nonspecific answer about certain appointments that turned out to be mistakes. But in the eyes of most Americans, he didn't answer this question. Maybe this is because he really doesn't see himself as having made any mistakes. Maybe he's too dumb to recognize them, or too proud to admit them. Or maybe he sees acknowledging mistakes to be a sign of weakness. But that's OK, there are plenty of patriotic Americans out here who will help the President-appointee with this question.

One of Bush's major mistakes has been to govern as if he were the bearer of the mandate of the American people. Rarely if ever did he act as if he had anything but unanimous support for his decisions. Never did he adopt a conciliatory tone, or attempt to build coalitions with the opposition. Perhaps having a Congress that has mainly served a reciprocal role as bearer of the rubber stamp has helped to reinforce the delusion that he was doing not only God's will, but the will of the American people. To many, it seemed that the first Presidential debate was the first time he had directly experienced dissenting opinion expressed in a manner he could not simply disregard.

A Bush victory, by count of the ballots cast or (once again) by Supreme Court decree, will only reinforce this delusion of unanimity. On the other hand, should Kerry be declared the victor, he must be careful not to behave in a manner that is too conciliatory, lest he be painted as a weakling by the opposition - who will certainly begin plotting his ouster, by fair means or foul, almost immediately. I shudder to think about what sort of runaway government we will see in a second Bush administration. And I shudder to think of the likes of Karl Rove and Grover Norquist turning their energies toward the destruction of the American President. Let's hope that whoever wins, the American people can put aside their differences and unite to provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, ensure the blessings of liberty for ourselves and our posterity, and all that other wacky stuff that's in the good ol' Constitution.