The country may be balanced on a knife-edge, but the Republicans, whether or not they finally take the Presidency, will in time look back on the extraordinary 2000 elections with some relief.
Control of the Senate and House, the fruits of a now-despised conservative radical rebellion in 1994, have been retained against the administration's best efforts in a period of the most successful economic growth in US history.
For President Clinton, like the last Irish government, it must be a galling experience, allayed perhaps by his wife's sweet Senate victory in New York. The possibility of a Democratic victory, against the poll predictions, was enabled by the turnout, pushed up to 51 per cent from 49 per cent in 1996, a reflection both of the excitement engendered by the contest and the turnout drives targeted specifically at swing states. But it still leaves the US 139th down the turnout list of 163 democracies.
Last night the popular vote tally was standing at 48,475,264 to Mr Bush, 48,747,724 to Mr Gore. Mr Ralph Nader polled 2,657,617 votes, of which 96,000 were in Florida where he may indeed yet fulfil the liberal left's worst nightmare of handing Mr Bush the Presidency. With Florida and Oregon yet to declare finally, the electoral college vote is divided in Mr Gore's favour 260 to 246.
The result when it comes will be the narrowest margin in the electoral college since 1916 when Woodrow Wilson beat Charles Hughes by 277 to 254. If Mr Bush wins it will also be only the third time, the last being 1888, when the constitutionally decisive vote in the electoral college will not reflect the national popular vote.
The electoral college was established by the founding fathers to weight the presidential vote in favour of the smaller states, necessary to secure their support for the constitution, and because of fears that a widely spread and ill-informed electorate might not be able to distinguish between candidates.
Not surprisingly, the Gore campaign is trying to create political space for its challenge to the Florida results by emphasising the difference between the popular and electoral votes, the ABC News political analyst and former Clinton adviser, Mr George Stephanopoulos, told Good Morning America.
"If they win the popular vote, they believe they'll have the public on their side. Most of the public think that the winner of the popular vote wins the election. So this possible difference between who wins the popular vote and who wins the electoral college could shake this country up," Mr Stephanopoulos said.
Aside from the chaos in Florida, Mr Bush won the South solidly, from Virginia and the Carolinas on the Atlantic coast to his home state of Texas. He embarrassed Mr Gore by capturing the Vice-President's home state of Tennessee, along with Mr Clinton's home state of Arkansas.
Much of the central West and Rocky Mountain region also has gone to Mr Bush. Among Mr Bush's successes in Democratic strongholds was West Virginia, which has voted Democratic in five of the last six presidential elections before this year. Mr Bush also picked off eight states that voted for Mr Clinton in the last two elections, including Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Nevada and Ohio.
For Mr Gore, victories in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and Illinois added to his near sweep of the north-east. Mr Bush managed to eke out his only victory amid the sea of Gore states in New England by capturing New Hampshire, the scene of his most humiliating loss to Senator John McCain during the Republican primaries and another state that voted Democratic in 1992 and 1996.
The Gore camp breathed a sigh of relief on Tuesday night after the Democrats won California, the night's largest electoral prize with 54 electoral votes, despite Mr Bush's concerted efforts to score an upset there. Washington State also went to Mr Gore, easing concerns that the Vice-President would have trouble delivering this state for a fourth consecutive presidential election for Democrats.
In the crucial Florida battleground Republicans did make gains among senior citizens but lost heavily in minority communities.
The 3 per cent vote for Mr Ralph Nader, candidate of the Green Party, is not large enough to allow the party to claim federal election funding next time, but the candidate was putting a brave face on the result, claiming: "We're in it for the long run". The party had established itself as the third party and an agent of long-term reform, he said, dismissing suggestions it might have acted as a spoiler.
"You can't spoil a system spoiled to the core," Mr Nader told supporters. But his vote in places like Florida was well below that predicted by polls and he clearly suffered from last-minute defections of supporters scared by the prospect of handing tight states to Mr Bush.
His vote completely eclipsed the Reform Party and its candidate, Mr Pat Buchanan. Its funding is now lost, and its future must be in doubt.
The failure of the Democrats to regain control of the Senate was almost eclipsed by their delight in Mrs Clinton's victory in New York. Almost but not quite. This is a bitter pill. For the first time Republicans may yet control House, Senate and Presidency since 1955.
Although the final tally is not yet available, no scenario leaves Democrats in control. A possible 50-50 split would be resolved in favour of the Republicans either by Vice-President Cheney from the chair, or through the resignation of Senator Joe Lieberman should Mr Gore and he eventually triumph. His seat would be filled by a Republican.
In Missouri the widow of the late Governor Mel Carnahan, Ms Jean Carnahan, will be nominated to the Senate seat he won posthumously, three weeks after his death, with a 41,000 majority. She told supporters her husband would be proud and that his supporters "remain heirs of a legacy, bearers of a dream".
The old adage that money talks was true with bells on in New Jersey and Washington State. Money shouts. The Democratic former co-chairman of Goldman Sachs, Mr Jon Corzine, a liberal, ploughed $60 million of his own cash into the election, outspending his rival, Representative Bob Franks, by 10 to one and breaking national Senate race spending records. He was elected despite his opponent's description of him as "a human ATM".
In Washington, the Democratic software millionairess Ms Maria Cantwell has also poured some of her personal fortune into a race to defeat Senator Slade Gorton. Last night it was still in the balance.
The Democrats needed net gains of seven or eight for full control of the House, but with ABC projecting net gains of only two, the balance of forces is likely to remain 219-214, with two independents.
The most celebrated casualty was Californian Republican, Mr Jim Rogan, whose role as House manager for the Clinton impeachment had made him a Democratic target. He lost to Mr Adam Schiff.
In the 11 contests for governors, the status quo prevailed in nine states, with only West Virginia's elderly Republican Governor Cecil Underwood, who recently collapsed during a TV debate, losing out to the Democrats' Mr Bob Wise. The Republicans now control 30 gubernatorial mansions compared to 19 for the Democrats and two Independents.