The God vote

Page 2 of 2 -- Lister said he was frustrated during the campaign by how his own candidate never offered a message that was clearly different than Bush. ''Kerry missed his opportunities,'' Lister said, foreshadowing much of the post-election analysis. ''I think he should have realized that he is rich like Bush, so he had to come up with something that said, 'I'm rich, but I care.'

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''While I was watching the debates, it kind of drove me crazy that Kerry would start off as sounding very dynamic, but then all he would say is that he had a better plan than Bush. I remember saying to myself while watching the debates, 'Show us the plan! Show the plan!' I have to give Bush credit. He keeps everything on a simple focus. Kerry goes about it in a round-about way.''

Johnson said she supported Bush even though she wished the president had ''been more honest about Iraq'' and the weapons of mass destruction. She hopes that a second Bush administration would do a better job of working with the United Nations. She hoped that Bush would take healthcare seriously, saying she can get a 90-day order of one of her prescription drugs for $75 from Canada when it costs her the same money for only a 30-day order at home.

She also hoped Bush would ''get rid of'' No Child Left Behind, the president's program to reform public education that remains pitifully far from full funding. ''I'm student teaching in the first grade and I see a lot of children with special needs or children who don't all learn exactly the same way,'' Johnson said. ''You have kids coming from mixed-up families. It's not the kids' fault. There's a lot we can teach them if we're given the chance. I'm not sure that just testing them is the only way. It's so gratifying when you reach a child and the light bulb goes on and they start showing confidence in themselves. To do that you have to have the chance to teach them as individuals.''

Perhaps Lister and Johnson will one day harden into ideologues. It would be our good fortune if they do not. This election was decided with a bitterness that all but reached a point of Americans shouting, ''My God's better than yours.'' The waitress and the waiter offer the hope that tomorrow's elections can be decided on healthcare, education, and global cooperation. Their light bulbs are on, and only time will tell if they will dim with cynicism or brighten with optimism.

Derrick Z. Jackson's e-mail address is jackson@globe.com.