Un-American challenge

U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and U.S. Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, D-Ohio, provided a whole new dimension to the term "sore loser" Thursday. They led the paranoid wing of the Democratic Party in challenging the certification of the 2004 presidential race.

Specifically, they challenged Ohio's vote, which pushed President George W. Bush over the 270 Electoral College count necessary for his re-election. This has happened only once since 1877.

When such a challenge is mounted it forces the two chambers to separately debate the issue – in this case, voting irregularities – for a few hours before moving ahead with certification.

Basically, Boxer and Jones were carrying water for Michael Moore Democrats who just can't accept the fact that Bush kicked their man's behind last November. Boxer was the only senator to support the challenge; significantly, the party's standard-bearer, Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., didn't join her. Jones carried 30 other House members with her.

The dissidents say they forced the debate in hopes of improving the nation's voting procedures and to empower minorities' voting rights. This is either a lie or nonsense.

No election is perfect. There always are going to be some irregularities – no doubt that was true in Ohio. But even after a recount – which, incidentally, wasn't legally necessary – Bush still won the state by nearly 119,000 votes. Nothing happened in Ohio that could have changed the outcome of the presidential election.

What Boxer and Jones were really up to wasn't about strengthening the nation's democratic procedures as they claimed, but weakening them by trying to turn the decisive 2004 election into another indecisive, controversial 2000 election. This stubborn failure to accept reality undermines public confidence in the entire election system. We suspect that's what they want – to alienate Americans from their own country.

The truth is that George W. Bush won the election fair and square, and he's every American's president. To claim otherwise is unpatriotic and anti-American.