Tuesday was supposed to be “Decision Day”.

Instead, most Americans woke up yesterday morning bewildered by one of the most gripping real-life dramas to hit our country since The Gulf War was beamed into our living rooms in 1991.

After more than 100,000,000 people across our great land turned out to say their piece, all eyes are now on the state of Florida to decide which presidential candidate, Republican George W. Bush, or Democrat Al Gore, will be the next President of the United States of America.

Super-slim margin in Florida leads to mandatory recount – results expected Thursday afternoon

The state of Florida, which was prematurely awarded to both Gore and Bush several times throughout the evening by major media outlets, is now recounting their votes to see which candidate will receive the final 25 electoral votes that will decide the election. Less than 1800 popular votes are believed to separate the two candidates.

Confusing ballot in question

Another story out of Florida that had everyone buzzing involved a poorly designed ballot in Palm County that potentially confused a number of voters in the area into accidentally voting for Reform candidate, Patrick Buchanan instead of Al Gore. Some pundits believe this could lead to an injunction against the state’s certification of electors and would forfeit the state’s 25 electoral votes, thereby giving the election to Gore.

Yet another possibility would be a re-vote for Palm County. Yes, just when things couldn’t get any more bizarre … they do!

Other big stories from Election Day (and night) 2000:

The Nader factor: Proving that a vote for Nader may have indeed been “a vote for Bush”, the Green party candidate appeared to cannibalize much of the liberal vote from Al Gore, despite the fact that he didn’t manage to receive even 5% of the popular vote. In Florida, where less than 2,000 votes separate Gore and Bush, Nader secured more than 90,000 votes.

Bush wins Clinton and Gore’s home states: The Texas Governor defeated the Vice President in Bill Clinton and Al Gore’s home states of Arkansas and Tennessee, respectively – establishing early that this was to be an unpredictable race that could go either way.

Senator Clinton: In the marquee Senate match-up of the night, Hillary Clinton defeated Representative Rick Lazio to win the U.S. Senate Seat from New York. The victory established the First Lady as a political force in her own right, and guaranteed at least 6 more years of Clinton news for a country that just can’t seem to get enough of it.

Deceased Carnahan wins Missouri Senate seat – Republicans regain control of Congress: Democratic Governor Mel Carnahan, who died tragically in a plane crash last month, defeated the incumbent, Republican John Ashcroft. Carnahan's wife, Jean, is expected to be appointed to the seat. Missouri Republicans are expected to challenge the constitutionality of the election. Democrats gained three Senate seats overall, but Republicans still hold onto a slim, 1-seat lead.

So what did you think were the big stories from last night’s election? Were you happy with the results? What are your final thoughts on Election 2000?