Crybabies:William Slatean is far from a right-winger, but I think he hit the nail write on the head with this article in Slate. Anyone who has read this blog knows I'm not a Bush supporter, but I get tired of Democrats who talk about Bush "stealing" the election and view the current recall as a right wing power grab. Please. The 2000 election was a muddled mess, but Bush did not steal anything. Yes he did not win the popular vote, but sorry that doesn't make him illegitamate. The way our system is setup, it is possible to lose the popular vote and still win the presidency by winning the electoral vote. If a Democrat had won that way, I doubt we would hear much bickering. Same goes for the California recall. I'm not really in favor of it, but it is legal by state law. Also, how many Democrats were talking about power grabs when Governor Gray Davis used $10 of his own money to defeat moderate Republican candidate Richard Riordan so that he could get the more conservative Bill Simon as his challenger?

This is not to say that Republicans don't play dirty, they do. But just as Republicans like to wrap themselves in a flag to escape criticism, Democrats tend to hide behind the constitution and claim democracy is under attack from the right wing. The problem is not "traitorous liberals" or "fascist conservatives." The real enemy is the cynicism and lust for power that has so taken hold on modern American politics. Politicians are more concerned about staying in power than they are about serving the public good. And liberals and conservatives are more interested in serving their special interests than they are in serving all. What was appalling in the Clinton-Lewinsky saga was not that the President fooled around with a young intern, but what was shocking was that women's groups who would have jumped on a Republican guilty of the same thing would have asked for his head, claiming the President was abusing his position of power.

What is needed is for people to speak out to both parties and ask for politicians to start adhering to serving the public and not just their special interests.