Like I said before, it will never be over. However, it has come to a conclusion of sorts.

Not surprisingly, I'm happy with the outcome, but not necessarily with the way it came about. I think Bush would have won a manual recount, but with strict standards applied across the entire state. There were more undervotes in Republican counties, suggesting that if, the law of averages held, Bush's lead would have actually grown. It bothers me that the Florida Supreme court didn't bother to address the issue of standards, instead issuing a recount with no instructions. At least they had the good sense to order it statewide, even though it never really got underway.

Those who say Bush faces an uphill battle are fools. There may be a large number of people who consider him an illegitimate president, but that doesn't really matter. For the first time in a long while, both the President and Congress are controlled by the Republicans, even if by a sliver. He'll have a lot easier time making policy than Clinton did with two halves of Congress set against him.

Some people are now disillusioned with the high courts. I, for one, don't have much faith in judges, no matter how high they're placed. They seem to be just as susceptible to personal bias and ideology as politicians. All too often they simply ignore the questions they don't want to answer, presenting their rulings in direct contrast with laws they simply do not like. They have as much leeway in "interpreting" laws as they want... until an appeal court decides to step in. Problem is that you can't always count on that.