In the year 2000, the presidential campaign between George W. Bush and Al Gore proved to be an inconclusive test of the most popular candidate, with Bush winning the electoral vote and Gore winning the popular vote. The last time a close election produced a split decision in the popular vote and the Electoral College was 1888.
             The 1888 presidential campaign is known as the most corrupt campaign in U. S. history. The current President, Stephen Grover Cleveland, won more popular votes than his opponent, but somehow Benjamin Harrison wound up with the larger share of electoral votes. Cleveland, the current Democratic President, had been through a close campaign once before.
             The Democratic Party unanimously nominated President Cleveland at the Democratic convention in New York. At the Republican convention, Benjamin Harrison was nominated and placed on the eighth ballot. The election campaign itself was very controlled with neither side actively campaigning.
             The major issue in the campaign was concerning tariffs. Benjamin Harrison supported a strong tariff policy and Grover Cleveland's policy was to reduce tariff's. The election itself was very close with President Cleveland winning the popular vote, but losing the electoral votes to Benjamin Harrison.
             When a reporter asked President Cleveland to talk about his defeat, Cleveland smiled and said, "It was mainly because the other party had the most votes." He never complained that he had more votes than Benjamin Harrison. President Cleveland dealt with his defeat with a lot of dignity. There were no recounts or lawsuits. His grace in defeat was even more amazing considering that the loss meant he had to surrender power he already possessed, not merely accept failure to reach it.
             One of the reasons that people did not challenge the election was that during this time, the government didn't matter as much in their lives as it does today. In 1888, Washington only collect...