HE TWO presidential antagonists last night tried to provide some ballast to a destabilized nation, with Vice President Al Gore conceding and George W. Bush acknowledging the hurt many Americans feel about both the process and the outcome of Election 2000.
''Our country has been through a long and trying period,'' a subdued Bush said in his acceptance speech. ''Now it is time to find common ground.'' The two men will meet on Tuesday for the first time since the election.
But even as he plans his transition, Bush still needs to earn his mandate to govern, not having had it conferred upon him by the voters. Thousands of votes in pivotal Florida still remain unrecorded, trumped by five votes belonging to a slim majority of the US Supreme Court. After 36 days of partisan posturing and scorched-earth tactics on both sides, notions of what Gore last night called ''higher duty'' seem almost quaint. But it is up to the winners to make the extraordinary effort to reconnect to that ideal.
A Bush victory gives Republicans control of the executive branch and both houses of Congress for the first time since Eisenhower was president, but the GOP should not take this as a blank check. After all, Bush will be the first person in over 100 years to become president after losing the popular vote. The Senate will be split 50-50, and House Republicans may have their own struggle between moderates and firebrands like whip Tom DeLay.
Bush was wise during the campaign to keep his distance from the more extreme elements of his party, and his motivation should be even stronger now. He should beware the cajolery of Delay or Senator Trent Lott of Mississippi and put flesh on the rhetorical bones of his reputation as ''a uniter not a divider.''
This election is not good news for the poor, sick, marginalized, or anyone who depends on government to be a protective force in their lives. Even in its most generous interpretation, the message of the voters was muddle-of-the-road. With a contentious Congress and no public mandate, the Bush team may be tempted to operate under the political radar, pressing an agenda less through Congress and more through appointments, regulations, and executive orders. Normally, these receive little scrutiny and will require a vigilant public.
Gore was gracious and funny in his speech, saying he accepts the Supreme Court's ruling even as he disagrees with it. And he struck a note of uplift, noting that ''the strength of American democracy is shown most clearly through the difficulties it can overcome.''
The great existential truth is that we may never know who won the 2000 presidential election. But all available arbiters have now done their work, and Americans do know - and must accept - who will be president.
