Paper trail

One thing that disappoints me most about America is the bitterness that seems to surround elections of late. Of course this is not unique to the US, but listening to the radio this morning I was frustrated that the recent election is still being called into question (spoiled/provisional ballots in Ohio etc. etc.). I do not want to weigh in on that issue, and it is to Kerry's everlasting credit that he didn't either. What disturbs me is, 1) the complicated election system in this country, 2) the rush to call a winner before all votes are counted, and 3) the lack of a paper-trail with these new electronic vote machines. Now, all these cries of foul play can (and I imagine will) be dismissed, but the point is that these arguments would not even be raised if voting here was as simple as putting an X in a box on a piece of paper, and elections were "called" by non-partisan officials and not by the media or the candidates themselves. Surely these question marks over the electoral process need not exist. Let the winner get on with his job, and let the loser get over it and play golf.