But the majority of voters chose Gore, and a greater majority of voters chose Obama. Both progressive forward thinking individuals. Gore, unfortunately, didn't get elected because it turned out that the majority of voters didn't really have a say; it was the government (the electoral college) who decided the winner.
Without the vote... Well... We would be something like a dictatorship or a monarchy. Like Saudi Arabia (
Star Wars Appropriate Link) a nation who likes to believe that homosexuals should be stoned, burned or thrown from mountain tops. Maybe we'd be like the Soviet Union or pre US influence People's Republic of China.
Luckily for us, a large enough majority voted someone with the type of mindset to abolish the "Don't Ask Don't Tell" and allow gays to serve openly in our military. Without the vote, we'd likely have a government full of good ol' boys where the only change would come through revolt or a military coup.