A year ago, President Bush won a very blurry election. There were more than just voter eyes squinting at the ballots, there were the lucky people who received the job of recounting the ballots who were squinting as well.

In fact, the whole nation squinted to find a winner between George W. Bush and Al Gore amongst the broken chads and butterfly ballots that consumed the state of Florida.

Over the past year, an extensive look at the the election was made by multiple newspapers and research centers, including the Chicago Tribune, and they discovered some important information — that still a year later, the election was so jumbled that no clear winner can be identified.

In an effort to find the true winner, the Tribune analyzed the 175,010 disqualified Florida ballots and ran them through 11 separate recount scenarios. Five of the theoretical recounts went to Bush and five went to Gore.

The other recount was a split decision, meaning that even in the theoretical world of recounts, we still wouldn’t know who the president was. Furthermore, there is no clear indication as to why the entire mess happened.

So, where does that leave us?

It leaves us with a whole lot of nothing and no answers.

But you know what? I’m alright with that.

Well, I am not alright with the fact that this even happened, and I still mildly believe that there was something shady going on, what with Jeb Bush as the governor of Florida. But I am alright with the fact that Bush is the president.

And that is saying something because I was a staunch Democratic supporter this last election and every election.

When Bush won, I was livid that the whole Florida thing even happened, and I was further disgusted that Gore received the majority of votes, but lost it in the electoral votes.

I was all for Gore fighting this fight until the bitter end, but he didn’t and/or couldn’t.

But now, let’s talk about the present. The past is in the past, and what we we’re left with is President Bush.

Sure, his inaugural ball was pretty weak, and I actually wasn’t too happy about the whole gigantic tax break thing that he initiated. After all, I am a tax-paying citizen, but I was denied a refund because my parents still can claim me as a dependent.

That, my friends, is completely bogus.

But all of the criticism that made me despise President Bush vanished two months ago.

Bush has emerged as a competent and strong leader since the inception of the war on terrorism, and I honestly can say that I wasn’t too sure about those two qualities a year ago.

This doesn’t mean that I’m happy with everything that Bush is doing, because he always will have the oil baron look to him. I’m not so sure about his environmental policies or that blasted tax-cut scheme either.

Yet, I find myself beginning to like Bush more and more.

Maybe like is too soft of a word.

I am beginning to respect Bush more and more. And while our country remains at war and while we have to battle terror plots in the anthrax outbreak and threats of other plots, I am confident.

I don’t think I’m being naive when I say that this war will not last as long as many predict. Maybe I’m saying that out of hope, but I truly believe that while terrorism and Sept. 11 will remain embedded in our minds and hearts, the actual war will be quick.

I’m not predicting less than a year, but I would like a war-free opening day for baseball this spring.

And I am sure that Bush would, too.

This column isn’t meant to provoke a gripping patriotic spirit or for people to run out and buy more American flags, but it is meant to show that even the craziest of Democrats can like a Republican president at certain times.

And if I could, I would call up Bush and tell him “good job.” Of course, then I would ask him what he was thinking with that whole tax refund thing and then throw in a zinger or two about the Texas Rangers.