Well said: The contested nature of the election argued for a kind of conciliation and creation of a grand bipartisan coalition that was never even considered when the Republican right wing took what it considered to be its God-given mandate to rule.

Anyone who ventured to Washington, D.C., during the winter of 2001 could feel the angst emanating among Democrats and moderate Republicans, as the true, extremist and isolationist nature of the Bush administration revealed itself.

The defection of Vermont's James Jeffords from the ranks of the Republicans that gave Democrats control of the U.S. Senate was only the most visible sign of the growing consternation.