Dave: The Bush people have two problems.
On one hand, there's a moral issue: should Bush concede the election to Gore? At this point, with people demonstrating in the streets and a national uproar ensuing, this must be regarded as a serious consideration. The ballot confusion was clearly very real -- regardless of whether the ballots were approved in advance, or whether there were sample ballots sent out, or whatever -- and the votes at stake would easily hand Gore the victory.
On the other hand, there's an issue that's both legal and political: if the Gore people ask the Florida courts for a re-vote, they'll ultimately win. I don't know if they've got a case on the law, though it sounds like they do, but the political fact of the matter is that Florida's Supreme Court is made up entirely of Democrats. The state officials who are overseeing the election are all Republicans, which is why they keep insisting that the ballot was fine and the recount should be decisive. But what is an all-Democrat Supreme Court going to do when the appeals process reaches that level?
It's perfectly understandable that the Bush people would be a little nervous at this point. Their only hope is to turn public opinion against the process of investigating all of these problems in Florida, with the objective of driving Gore to concede the race for the good of the country. This is why Bush is already acting like he's the President-elect, instead of waiting on the bureaucratic and legal systems to do their work; he's trying to establish the inevitability of his rule so the country will wonder why Gore is trying to game the election. However, it sounds like the Democrats aren't going to be bullied on this, and I wouldn't be at all surprised to hear Gore people start saying that Bush should concede the election over the next couple of weeks. A Bush concession is my bet on the ultimate outcome, for what it's worth (very little!). |
