[iltos]

it is a truely remarkable system we participated in yesterday....flawed and humbling, spectacular in its intent, unifying by its very existence.

some are gonna want to wait for those ohio votes, but the writing is on the wall for me...those who feel that president bush deserves another four years to realize his policies for the world and for america have won this thing, and it time for folks like me shrug, cross my fingers, get my daughter a passport, and hope to my god that the man will stop short of proclaiming this to be a mandate of the people......

my greatest hope is three fold...that the president will see fit to end the secrecy that has been noted and complained about throughout much of his first term, that he will refocus the "war on terror" into a more global effort that distinguishes between those who feel invaded and those whose goal is to destroy the roots that justify invasion, and to seek a balance between economic growth and environmental loss....americans need the first, our planet needs the last one, and both, i feel, would benefit from the second.

a coupla bright notes: we california voters approved embryonic stem cell research, illinois gave barack obama larger voice in the future, a tiny minority rejected the two party system and voted for third party candidates....and tsg is twenty bucks ahead....thank mulder for that, as his idea was brilliant.

but i'm also wondering....i still see this country (indeed, much of the international community) divided along political lines certainly, but significantly along ideological line, as well. what, if anything, can or should be done in the second term to heal this rift?

[Ciberblade]

I do not believe that the 'rift' among party lines will ever be fixed. That (IMO) is the brilliance of the system. For people do not agree much of the time, so the idea is that when they do agree -- it is truly in the best interest of the country. We all have different ideas on how to approach or take down certain problematic areas...not saying that one person or group has all the answers, which is why we sit down and discuss the points from every angle.

[THoey]

To me, that rift is the reason the party system should go. Too many people are tried and true to their party even if it means the worst for US.

Be a Democrat. Be a Republican. Be what ever you want to be. But when you are creating laws or allocating the budget, etc, or voting on any of the above, don't just use your heart, use your head. Is this what is best for the US and the world as a result?