In the beginning the US was accused of doing it for money. I keep waiting for someone to comment on the financial reasons for France and Russia's position.
People have been commenting on it ad nauseam.
Quote:
As a Tennessean, I would like to point out that had Gore been able to carry the state he claimed as home, Florida wouldn't have been an issue. Also, there is a reason the American consititution let's the electoral college elect the President. It's the same reason we have a Senate -- to let the less populous states have a say in our government. Works, too.
The 2000 election wasn't determined by the Electoral Congress. It was determined by a court in the name of expediency, to get the election over with. That's not the way it's supposed to work. Judging from some of the rhetoric coming out of Africa, the 2000 American election has alarmingly weakened the cause of democracy in places where government structures are in flux. The promoters of democracy have always pointed to the U.S. as a role model. After what many outside the U.S. perceive as a "stolen" election, people are saying, "If even America can't get it right, why should we think democracy will work here?" Regardless of what did or didn't happen in the 2000 elections, that perception is doing damage.
Quote:
The United Nations lost relevance when France said "no matter what you say, we will veto." How can there be discourse after that?
The permanent members' right to veto is as basic to the United Nations' structure as the Electoral Congress is to the United States' structure. The founding members of the UN, including the U.S., agreed to this, just as the American states agreed to the Electoral College. The idea was that the collective voice of the UN would speak only when the permanent members were in agreement. Considering the disparate philosophies of the countries involved, it's a very wise doctrine, and one that the U.S. has taken advantage of by exercising its own veto power. It seems childish for the U.S. to cowrite the rules of the "game" and then complain any time they don't happen to work in America's favor.
Previous Topic
Index
