A British writer's view of the recent American election
February 5, 2001 8:33 AM   Subscribe

A British writer's view of the recent American election We report. You decide. An issue that will not go gently into that good night.
posted by Postroad (6 comments total)
 
The magazine may be British, but the author is American.

Bruce Ackerman is Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science at Yale and the author of We the People. He is a member of the American Law Institute and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
posted by grimmelm at 9:28 AM on February 5, 2001


I have to say, though, Mr. Ackerman takes a rather anglophile approach. One can almost hear the clicking of the cheek, as if to say "those silly colonials and their inept constitution of 1787. If only they'd stayed under the Union Jack..."

Overall, a good analysis of the entire event, albeit a bit late.
posted by darren at 9:41 AM on February 5, 2001


I was almost ready to accept Dubya as our One True President, until I read this and got all pissed of again...

Vive el Gore!
posted by thebigpoop at 1:28 PM on February 5, 2001


A real gem of an article. It was frustratingly difficult to find even basic and accurate reporting of the simple facts during the election, due to the frenzied rhetoric used by both parties and the media's chumming the waters with their one-upping each other in sensationalizing the events. The pundits' "analysis" on the day of the Supreme Court rulings was utterly unwatchable.

What the article doesn't account for, however, is public opinion. Bush consistently held a lead in the polls after the election, and it seemed like the Dems had their hands tied a bit from fear of appearing too overzealous. The real winner in the campaign is the Republican political machine and the success of their "sore loser" campaign (and how cleanly they meshed it with their caricature of Gore as a lying, overambitious gun-control freak), with both the anti-Clintonites and with the undecided who just want to see the whole mess end. I have to ask though, at what cost to the process?
posted by DaShiv at 2:30 PM on February 5, 2001


I have to say, though, Mr. Ackerman takes a rather anglophile approach. One can almost hear the clicking of the cheek, as if to say "those silly colonials and their inept constitution of 1787. If only they'd stayed under the Union Jack..."

Eh?
posted by Mocata at 3:32 AM on February 6, 2001


I have to say, though, Mr. Ackerman takes a rather anglophile approach. One can almost hear the clicking of the cheek, as if to say "those silly colonials and their inept constitution of 1787. If only they'd stayed under the Union Jack..."

No i didn't get that impression at all. The only remark aimed at the English reader I could detect was a reference to the problems that can be caused by a written constitution (i.e. as opposed to the British system).

posted by lagado at 5:21 AM on February 6, 2001


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