本評論主要從政治信任的角度出發，論述2004年總統選舉對台灣政治發展的影響。文中指出，總統選舉過程中的公投議題、選舉後期的槍擊事件、選舉結果的爭議、以及選後國親兩黨的抗爭活動等，顯現出主要政黨之間缺乏互信的基礎，使整個選舉過程充滿懷疑與指責，卻少見政黨政策的嚴肅辯論。這種發展同時也侵蝕民眾對政府、政黨與政治人物的信任感，以及使不同省籍或族群認同的民眾之間產生不信任感。此一結果當然對現階段台灣走向民主鞏固的目標有所危害，在民眾與主要政治行動者缺乏政治信任的情況下，台灣目前仍舊處於末鞏回民主的階段。

This review discusses the impact of the 2004 presidential election on Taiwan's political development. The impact is mainly referred to as the decline of political trust caused by the presidential election. It indicates that, the appearance of referendum issues, the gunshot event, the close electoral result, and the protests initiated by both the KMT and the PFP after the election, have created deep political distrust among the major political parties. Doubts and criticisms have taken precedence of serious policy debates before and after the election. These developments also erode people's trust on the government, political parties and political elites. Meanwhile, these developments further strengthen the distrust between people with different provincial origins and ethnic identities. The outcomes of these developments are of course detrimental to Taiwan's moving toward democratic consolidation. With the lack of political trust among major political actors, Taiwan is still an unconsolidated democracy.