They shouted that they love Republicans and distrust Democrats. At the top of the ticket, they delivered 71 percent of the vote to President Bush, and lavished similar songs of praise on GOP candidates in many statewide and local races.

But within that Tabernacle Choir-sized fortissimo there are nuances, small voices that an optimistic or self-deluded Democrat can hear as counterpoint for bipartisanship and moderation, the tempering values in the winner-take-all American system.

For example, Utahns chose a moderate Republican, Jon Huntsman Jr., over a moderate Democrat, Scott Matheson Jr., to sit in the governor's office. Huntsman's winning 56-43 percent margin shows that Republican voters were willing to cross over in that race, but not in large enough numbers to give Matheson a victory.

More important, however, was the civil, harmonious tone of this campaign, in which both candidates stuck to policy issues and scrupulously avoided the bottom-feeding dissonance of personal-attack politics. Matheson's gracious visit to Huntsman's headquarters to offer his congratulations on election night, and Huntsman's high praise for the wisdom and class of his vanquished opponent, set a high standard of statesmanship that we hope others in Utah politics will emulate.

If they cannot do it for higher motives, politicians should take the high road for reasons of naked self-interest. That is one lesson of the ugly race between incumbent Democrat Jim Matheson and Republican John Swallow in the 2nd Congressional District. Utahns gave this Matheson the victory in a mirror image of the governor's race, 56-42 percent. One reason was voter disgust with Swallow's campaign tactics, which misrepresented Matheson's record more than once.

In Salt Lake County, voters also showed that they would cross over party lines to clean up after a scandal. In a tight race, they delivered the mayor's office to Democrat Peter Corroon, another politician who won voter confidence by working hard, knowing the issues and staying above partisan games after incumbent Republican Nancy Workman was charged with criminal misuse of public funds. With the victory of Jenny Wilson in the at-large council race, Salt Lake County will have something close to partisan balance in government, with a Democratic mayor and a 5-4 Republican majority on the council.

That does not say that Utahns are convinced that a vigorous two-party system makes for better government, although that's true. Democrats only picked up one seat in each house of the Legislature, leaving intact the Republicans' virtual monopoly. On Utah's Capitol Hill, the two-party system exists within the GOP, where moderates do battle with the religious right.

This year, at least, Utahns said that's fine with them.