That George Herbert Walker Bush's little boy grew up to himself become president of the United States of America was the result of a peculiar sequence of corporate fundraising, campaign spectacle, votes received, technological failure and, finally, legal determination. Whether the final outcome was actually “democratic” was questioned at the time. This doubt was only compounded by the fact that, in the legal judgment that settled the Bush presidency, it was explicitly stated that the ruling applied in this case only, and established no legal precedent. But, in spite of the objections of Al Gore and his supporters, there was little evidence of either public antipathy or joy for the legal decision proclaiming Bush victor.