I'm writing in response to your coverage of the Congressional protest of the clearly flawed Ohio 2004 vote count to point out that in contrast to 2004, in 2000, Senator Boxer was A.W.O.L. as was the rest of her democratic Senate coleagues. Our country is now suffering terribly and needlessly because of Bush's theft of the 2000 election. What happened in Ohio in 2004 is a sad continuation of what happened in Florida in 2000. Howver, unlike Kerry in 2004, Al Gore was clearly the people's choice in 2000 since he won both the popular vote and the electoral college vote. The truth will always be that Al Gore got the most votes in Florida and that Florida law required that the uncounted votes be counted. While Al Gore fought alone to have the uncounted Florida votes counted, Senator Boxer and the rest of her democratic Senate coleagues hid in their cushy, ivory Washington towers. It must never be forgotten that when it really mattered to stand up and defend our democracy from the Bush 2000 coup as their oath of office requires, Senator Boxer and her democratic Senate coleagues were A.W.O.L.