Democracies are messy things. In fact our Founding Fathers feared full democracies. We don't even directly elect our presidents - that is how little our founding fathers trusted the demos.
Both sides cheated in the Ukraine - one side was better at it then the other.
I won't start WW3 over a disputed election.
In any case Russia can call our bluff easy - what will the USA do to punish the Ukraine for making a choice it is against? Trade sanctions? That will drive it closer to Russia. The Ukraine has been a basket case since independence. Where was the Marshall plan to save the Ukraine? There was none and there will be none.
I am not a Ukrainian. It is not my place to judge their nation and their electoral results.
Where I did judge was to compare the hypocritical responses our leaders had (exit polls showed the other side winning - how rich!) over their election problems.
" Both sides cheated in the Ukraine - one side was better at it then the other."
I keep hearing this --- but have not seen any evidence that Yushchenko cheated to get his share of the vote. Why is this continuing to be repeated? Where are the news articles or first-hand accounts of cheating? And if Yushchenko's support is that soft, then what the heck are hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians doing in the streets for three days, ready to die if necessary to oppose the Russian military?
However, the documentation for the cheating on the Yankovich side is wide-spread and well-documented. I was shocked at the level. They could teach the Chicago Dems all sorts of things. That level of stealing the vote rightly delegitimizes the election, which is why practically everyone including the US has protested the "official" election results. Anyway, if there are news reports of the Yushchenko side cheating, please post the links. Thanks.