In a recent Gallup poll, Americans were asked the following question: "If two equally qualified students, one white and one black, applied to a major U.S. college or university, who do you think would have the better chance of being accepted to the college?" 67% of blacks said the WHITE student would have the advantage, while only 5% (FIVE PERCENT) said the black student would have the advantage. The distribution is a little closer to reality among white respondents, but even there, only 34% said the black student would have an advantage. This kind of thing makes me almost question democracy -- if the public is this stupid, can it really be trusted?

The distribution is a little closer to reality among white respondents, but even there, only 34% said the black student would have an advantage. This kind of thing makes me almost question democracy -- if blacks are this stupid, can they really be trusted?

Repealing or loosening term limits. Politicians are more beholden than ever to contributors and see no political gain in trying to solve long-term state problems. Elected representatives no longer fully grasp the basics of budgeting and regulatory oversight.

Turning legislative redistricting over to the state Supreme Court or a special commission. Politicians do it now, making safe districts for themselves. Over time, the primary-voting faithful of each party push the seat farther to the left or the right.

Amending Proposition 13, not to increase tax rates but to make it harder for corporations to escape reassessment. Homeowners can't disguise a sale as a 100-year lease, so why should banks and insurance companies be able to?

Amending the state Constitution to make it harder to place voter initiatives on the ballot and to recall officials. The initiative process has been hijacked by special interests, from casino operators to labor unions. Sponsors today don't bother with volunteers; they "buy" qualifying signatures by deploying an army of paid signature gatherers.

Plug the loopholes that encourage corrupt relationships in which politicians shake down contributors and pay them back with favors at the citizenry's expense.

Another chronic contributor to the state's political deadlock is the requirement that two-thirds of legislators must pass the annual state budget.... A ballot initiative sponsored by Democrats and already in circulation would lower the threshold for passing a budget or raising taxes to a 55% vote.... Both parties share blame for the state's deep hole of debt, but the measure's sponsors should agree to delay and incorporate it in a broader package that could be put to voters by 2004.

One multilateral institution that might not fare so well in a Dean administration, though, is the World Trade Organization. In what would be a radical departure, China and other countries could get trade deals with the United States only if they adopted "the same labor laws and labor standards and environmental standards" as the United States. Whether or not that demand was consistent with WTO rules? "That's right." With no concession to their relative level of development? "Why should there be? They have the right to have a middle class same as everyone else."

Dean says, "We've tried it" -- NAFTA, WTO -- "for 10 years, and has it succeeded? No. . . . What's the purpose of trade? If it's to create jobs, we haven't done that in America."