TALLAHASSEETHE CIRCUS IS in town - the cameras, satellite trucks, and omnipresent cell phones that signal the presence of the country's vast and self-absorbed political-media complex. But this is the time to look past the excess and see Shakespeare, not Seinfeld; to think history, not soundbite.
In this amazing, unprecedented presidential election standoff between George W. Bush and Al Gore, two men's fates stand in the balance - and so much more.
The issue is not only who will prevail, but what? The rule of politics or the rule of law? Will the famously short American attention span favor a quick, easy ending? Or can America wait patiently during a messy process for justice and fairness?
The scene here is easy to trivialize, as the ever-expanding media herd twitches nervously, and often ridiculously, in search of any bit of information that qualifies as news: An empty podium wheeled out to the plaza in front of the Capitol Building is surrounded by frenzied cameramen, anxious to get the best shot of absolutely nothing. Thank goodness for the heavy air, moody skies, and trees dripping with Spanish moss. They lend a solemn weightiness, underscoring the significance of this classic only-in- America drama.
It is not overreaching to say that democracy is the star of this show. When this moment is history, Americans will look back and judge how its trustees performed under pressure.
Certainly the pressure is immense. Bush seeks to claim what he believes is rightly his. In pressing a challenge, Gore runs the risk of looking small, petty, and so personally ambitious he would do anything to win. And that, of course, is a criticism that was lodged against the vice president long before this particular drama began to unfold.
But in an election with so few votes separating winner from loser, in a country where the will of the people is expected to prevail as a matter of course, the politics of the situation should not overwhelm the quest for truth. (I believe that even if the Bush campaign were mounting the challenge of Florida's results.)
In 1960, Richard Nixon did not challenge John F. Kennedy's razor-thin victory on the grounds that it would not be good for the country. The country is different now. It is more sophisticated and better informed. It has instant access to news, 24 hours a day. In the 1960s, there was much the press knew and the people didn't. Now, information is available to more people and dispensed in a much more egalitarian way.
Americans expect full disclosure and get it to the extreme, from the long-running Monica Lewinsky scandal to the late-breaking news about Bush's long-ago drunken driving arrest. When it comes to the process of selecting a president, full disclosure of all pertinent information should certainly be the goal.
The country can stand the delay. There is no question who is in charge at this moment: It is President Clinton. As for concerns about the market, well, the market should be reassured by democracy in action, not frightened by it.
This is definitely taking a high-minded view of a situation that undoubtedly has its down-and-dirty elements. Let's not be naive. Gore and the Democrats seek victory for themselves, not just victory for democracy.
It is hard to watch Gore's campaign manager, William Daley, press the Democrats' challenge and not think of his father, the late Chicago Mayor Richard Daley. The Daley political machine delivered those still-controversial votes in Illinois for Kennedy 40 years ago. The age of modern political cynicism began with those allegedly stolen votes for JFK.
The son could not possibly want to inherit that darker side of the Daley family legacy. Yet at yesterday's press conference, Bill Daley seemed moved a bit too much by Democratic partisanship instead of democratic principle. At such a sensitive time, tone is important. For Gore's sake, Daley should take pains to strike the right one.
Bush, in the meantime, looks a little too impatient for power. A transition team can wait, at least until the absentee ballots are counted.
In a democracy, process reigns supreme. The all-American desire for instant gratification should not trump truth. The circus should not rush the star performer out of center ring.
Joan Vennochi's e-mail address is vennochi@globe.com.
