Until Tuesday, there was the hope that the Florida Supreme Court would give Gore a graceful exit by ruling for Bush. Alas, it appears that this circus has found a permanent home in our living rooms. One cannot fault the media titans for prolonging this ordeal. They haven't had so much cheap fun since O J Simpson.

The only reason this matter has gone this far, is that Bush seems incapable of articulating his own defense. The Democrats have already attempted to tamper with a few thousand overseas military ballots designed for hand counting. Why would they be trusted to hand count over five million ballots designed for machine counting? End of story.

Gore has a legion of trial lawyers, who hatch and multiply in the Democratic Party. He has the eastern media establishment, which already tried to swing the election by the early release of inaccurate exit polls. When you have that much mud on your face, it doesn't matter what you look like. The very same self-appointed media aristocracy that muzzled Nader and hushed up the 'cyber vote' stealing scandal is at it again. They will go the extra mile and give a credible image to a man who would steal the White House.

In essence, Gore is asking Bush for just one more chance to steal the election. The Bush campaign and the Republicans are aghast that the Democrats are crazy enough to propose such an audacious request. It is almost impossible to find the rare Republican who will even consider the possibility of a Gore presidency. For good reasons, many Americans would see it as a coup by lawyers and Florida's Democratic Party hacks. If the Florida Electoral College vote ever lands in Gore's column, the 'Fraudila' Presidency will invite a 24/7 Republican insurrection from the inaugaration to the impeachment.

Government paralysis, in and of itself, would marginally affect the lives of most Americans. But if half the population believes an arrogant self-absorbed pretender occupied the White House, there will be no end to the acrimony that will infest the political process. Which is fine by those of us who would love to have both parties reveal more about how they spent three billion dollars to pollute our political process.

The Republicans are no saints and one can safely conjecture that if the glove fit, they would not quit. But, it is Gore who has been given the opportunity to make a fool out of himself. Ever the opportunist, Gore has risen to the occasion.