For many anti-Bush voters, the wounds of this rancorous campaign will be raw for a long time, and the idea of joining hands with the president will be a nonstarter.

The Uniformed Firefighters Association, the 9,000-member union representing New York City firefighters, elected a 14-year department veteran yesterday as its president, ending a rancorous campaign.

President Bush and his successor, President-elect Bill Clinton, today declared a peaceful end to a rancorous campaign year, smiling, shaking hands and chatting about world and domestic affairs at the White House.

The rancorous campaign has generated debate, and considerable anger, among most voters, who expressed distaste for today's political culture, namely the partisan bickering and negative campaigning.

He was narrowly re-elected after a rancorous campaign in which the opposition contended his supporters had rigged ballots and staged a bogus assassination attempt against him.

And the secular and religious camps are both beefed up - and ultra-antagonistic - after a rancorous campaign.

Another issue that emerged in the rancorous 1990 campaign was past alcohol use, which has also emerged this time, but only as an intriguing illustration of style differences between the two candidates when discussing the matter.

The rancorous campaign was fought between the Government, which supported the amendment, and the hugely influential Catholic hierarchy and anti-divorce groups.

He was defeated for reelection the following year following a rancorous campaign.

In the rancorous presidential campaign that culminates with Sunday's balloting, the country abandoned a series of authoritarian traditions stretching back half a century.