Can I add a silver lining to that of George Will? And, that is the sweet sound of silence! For the first time in several election cycles, we have heard no clamor over hanging chads, butterfly ballots, voter intimidation, and voter suppression! Fear was so widespread leading up to this election that 541,000 hits on “voter suppression” and “2006” in Google will pop in just 0.11 seconds. Let me get this straight, the Help America Vote Act enacted back in 2002 still allowed another “stolen” election in 2004, but magically prevented major controversies just two years later. Or, could it be that one party is rife with lawsuit-happy losers, while another knows how to look defeat straight in the face?

Republicans have shown much more grace in the face of defeat compared to Democrats. Senator George Allen shamed sore losers of the past like Vice President Al Gore. The former was entitled to a recount due to a slim margin of 7,000 votes, which would have left the question of Senate majority open until December. He waived that right and gave a gracious concession speech. The latter tried to wiggle through every possible legal loophole to force a recount and delayed the election results by over a month! While he finally managed to concede his loss in a generous speech, the Vice President’s behavior up until then encouraged the left to rant over a stolen election. That left the door wide open for a return of the same specter in 2004 when the Democrats lost again.

Can a Democrat be civil? In Arizona, Harry Mitchell has yet to declare victory, while Representative J. D. Hayworth waits for the provisional ballot count outcome. Both patiently wait for the final count to end without the hysterics of past elections.

What will happen when the red tide finally rolls back in some future election? Who or what will the victim class blame with their defenders at the helm? Hacked computers? Confused voters? Bad hair day? Libheimer's?