By Christian Cotroneo
Only 11 months into the new millennium and it’s the end of the world all over again.
This time it’s serious.
A recent CNN/Time poll reveals 55 per cent of Americans consider the stalemate between presidential candidates Al Gore and George W. Bush a “serious problem.” Fifteen per cent call it a “crisis.”
Americans will actually have to wait to learn the identity of their next president.
It’s a crisis in democracy — or worse, a crisis in convenience. Y2K may have only been a tactic to scare up sales for crisis cuisine like powdered potatoes and Slim Jims, but this is certainly something worth hoarding for.
Votes have to be recounted by machine and by hand. And by God, that’s going to take a long time.
In the microwave popcorn age, this isn’t just intolerable, but apocalyptic. No one should have to wait for anything. Not even democracy.
Don’t blame the media this time. All the major networks aimed for instant gratification. CNN even tried to expedite democracy by declaring Gore had won Florida. Unfortunately, reality cried foul and the network recanted. Minutes later, they gave the state to Bush. Strike two.
It didn’t become apparent until well after Bob Novak fell asleep on the set of Crossfire that there’s only one certainty in this new world disorder — Pat Buchanan is not the president.
While past elections have featured five o’clock shadows and even shadier backdoor funding, no election has seen a shave this close.
Yet somehow, the effect is lost. Instead of reaffirming the system, voters are sounding a knell of its demise. Instead of impassioning people with evidence that every vote can be pivotal, the election has many calling for a speedy resolution. Headlines sing “Americans growing tired of election” and everyone joins in the refrain:
Chop-chop.
The world’s most notorious democracy flashes its democratic underpinning. And the world tells it to pull up its pants. Fast.
But democracy doesn’t always jibe with convenience. It can take time. The American election has triggered all the safeguards that protect the system’s integrity. Recounts, certifications and even court challenges are proof positive that the American system takes the process seriously — even if it’s too slow for the attention span of a prime-time audience.
Canadians, at least, know the value of snappy elections. If it’s not consumed by the implosion of its niggling neighbour, Canada could find itself a smug role model for democracy. A prime minister can neutralize surprises by calling elections at will and riding the polls to predictable conclusions. No nail-biters. No recounts.
This federal election offers a simple choice: Liberal majority or Liberal minority. A little bit of Chrétien — or a lot. Leave it to Canada to solve that ancient riddle of democracy: Know poll. No powdered potatoes.