After the election mess in Florida, with all the name calling and yelling, I have a solution. I'd like to offer Florida back to Spain. Somebody over there please contact Juan Carlos I and tell me what he thinks. Thank You.

i agree, kurt!

it's interesting that people still have the association with the republican party that they are rich white slobs that want all the money...

in 1998 rush limbaugh (everyone's fav) released a study that looked into the family socio-economic backgrounds of republican and demcratic politicians that revealed that democratic politicians generally (and overall) came from more money than the republican politicians.... with the kennedy's leading the pack.

in europe i love the socialistic approach to government... in the usa i dislike it very much... europeans are more suitable for socialism because in general they seem to be less selfish, where they seemingly actually care more about those with less. in the usa i don't get the same feeling... and yeah, i agree that the democrats here in the usa are considered conservative in europe..

I thought it was already a done deal that the Queen resumes power and over all states, conmmonwealths and other territories?

I heard the Queen revoked our Independence! Apparently, she wants us to improve our pronunciation.

Well, seriously now--

I really must check this board more often, as some interesting thoughts have been floated. I'll respond to a couple of them.

First, the idea that Europeans like Al Gore more than George W. Bush. They probably agree with his policy proposals more than him personally. Actually, I find myself in more agreement with Gore's policies than Bush's. But I voted for Bush. Gore strikes me as deeply insecure with his constant need to "re-invent" himself and his almost pathological need to embellish and puff up his record. He has no central identity. Let's face it- a sitiing vice-president, whose administration oversaw eight years of unprecendented prosperity should have steam-rolled a bumbler like W. Europeans just don't know Gore like we in the US do.

Actually, that's all I've got time for now. I'll check back later to enlighten you all about my thoughts on American and European education.

Peace to all...

real_megia, I challenge you to link to that so-called "study." Bollocks, I say.

Looks like I'll be in Spain while the final results are established. It may not be pretty, but it's the best system so far . . .

markb i challenge you (feciciously) to link to anything you say on this board.

if that study does not appear in either one of rush limbaugh's books then i daresay that nobody could link to any evidence of it at all... i merely state what i heard (read - in newsweek 3 years ago while having the oil changed in my car...) i simply remember it because it shocked me. (by the way, the study included attendance to ivy league schools, democratic politicians coming out ahead...)

kurt, i agree with your position on gore's constant re-definition of self... i suppose everyone goes through an 'identity crisis,' but c'mon..!

To the non-U.S. members of the Board, what do you think about the election being resolved in the courts?

With an election that close and some grounds for suspicions of irregularities, it seems the normal course to undertake a judicial review.
Kurt, I do not think this preference for Gore of Europeans just has to do with the fact that we do not know him well enough. Most of my European friends here in the US followed the entire campaign more closely than many US citizens did and some of them live here for several decades already. Many were not enthusiastic about Gore either, but still preferred him to Bush. I DO think that there is something about Bush's behavior that appeals more to Americans than to Europeans, as was the case with Ronald Reagan, too.

Ronald Reagan was lucky, Connie. He faced two of the least impressive democrats of modern times: Jimmy Carter, a good man who supported unsound policies, and Walter Mondale, who was just, well, unsound. Its interesting that Carter, who by any objective criteria was a weak president, has become the most impressive ex-president of modern times. But lets not be too hard on Ronald Reagan, love him or hate him, he put together a successful strategy to end Cold War, and we are all better off for that (except maybe the ex-workers at Torrejon Air Base).