We want a president. Or, more to the point, we want a leader in place as our president.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t look as if we’ll get one anytime soon.

With Vice President Al Gore’s incessant demand Wednesday for a complete hand recount of all 6 million ballots in Florida, we are watching the trivialization and demoralization of the election process that has served our country for more than 200 years now.

According to the unofficial recount totals, Republican George W. Bush narrowly edged Gore in the Florida vote — by about 300 votes, not including the absentee ballots yet to be counted. With all Florida’s 25 electoral votes in the balance, Gore and his campaign cronies are pursuing every possible way to nullify votes, elaborate on irregularities and distorted the never-perfect-but-overwhelmingly-effective electoral college system.

We fear he will succeed. Court battles are raging, and Florida courts and its secretary of state are already espousing contradictory rulings and opinions.

Confusion reigns, and public service is long forgotten.

It’s a shame. Because the office of president of the United States is one of supreme leadership, and we would expect any man or woman elected to that office to embody the characteristics of true leadership.

And, sometimes, being a leader means knowing when to walk away — gracefully.

Instead, Gore is carrying on like a sore loser and Bush, unfortunately, like an ungrateful and sore winner.

For an American electorate nearly equally divided, the lack of a leadership front-runner in the 2000 election is reemphasized in this post-election day saga.

So much for leadership …