As I’ve watched the numbing parade of pundits over the past week and a half, I’ve heard few sound bites that stuck with me about this historic but unending election.

But an offhand comment two days ago from one of Vice President Al Gore’s aides made me stop and think. The aide told a national news broadcast that the Democratic camp only wanted &uot;what is fair for the vice president.&uot;

I’m sure he meant to say &uot;for the American people.&uot;

Just as I’m sure Gov. George W. Bush’s ubiquitous press secretary Karen Hughes means to keep harping on the victory she’s sure the voters have won, not just her boss.

Because, as I learned in high school Latin class, &uot;the state is more important than the man.&uot;

It’s the theme of Virgil’s masterpiece &uot;The Aeneid,&uot; the mythological story of the founding of Rome.

According to the plot, Aeneas, a hero of the Trojan War, escapes the burning city of Troy only to spend much of the story wandering around, getting sidetracked by the headstrong queen of the city of Carthage, and generally forgetting that his destiny is to found a great republic.

It takes a few characters’ reminding him before Aeneas finally gets the message: The new nation is more important than his own personal wishes.

I guess I got the message, too.

In fact, just before Clinton was inaugurated, I dreamed that Aeneas visited the future president.

&uot;Bill,&uot; Aeneas told Clinton. &uot;You must always remember: The state is more important than the man.&uot;

OK, so that’s obviously something Clinton forgot a few years ago when the federal budget was in limbo and a certain intern came knocking on his office door.

But, in general, I think the theme is still appropriate for the presidency.

Especially this week.

I’ve had to remind myself though, as I rewrite headlines as the election stories change throughout the night, that I’m witnessing history.

That’s hard to do when the two men vying for the White House aren’t exactly impressing anyone with their presidential qualities.

My favorite irony in this historic, unprecedented election is that I can’t imagine either of these men performing anything historic in the next four years.

In part, it’s common sense: Whoever wins this election becomes president of a seemingly divided nation and will have to work with a divided Congress.

But in the past year of campaigning, neither candidate has said anything earth-shaking.

Bush even had a campaign commercial in which he claimed he’d have the &uot;courage&uot; to improve schools across the country. I didn’t realize I was living in a country where it takes courage, not common sense, to improve public education.

So now we sit and wait for one state to finish counting its votes and for an endless stream of judges to issue conflicting rulings.

But the state is still more important than the man.

If I can dare to take the words of the greatest Roman writer even further, I’d say this: The men — and the women — make the state.

And what we as voters want is more important than a personal victory for Bush or for Gore. For the first time that I can remember, every vote really does count.

So the aftermath of last Tuesday’s election may not have strengthened my faith in either candidate, but it has strengthened my faith in our relatively young experiment in democracy.

That’s something to keep Virgil from turning over in his 2,000-year-old grave.

Kerry Whipple is news editor of The Natchez Democrat. She can be reached at 445-3562 or by e-mail at kerry.whipple@natchezdemocrat.com.