Since it is a day in which the no-politics rule of the thread is temporarily suspended, here's my two cents.
Disclaimer: I voted for Bush (or rather against Gore), though I did not feel strongly that either one would be great or bad for the country.
If I were GWB, I would give the following speech immediately after the Florida recount finished tonite.
This week has been an extraordinary moment in our democracy. Many good things have come out of the experience we have all been through, and we should not lose sight of those things. There is a danger, however, that some bad things will also come out of this experience. We should all focus on avoiding causing harm to our great country or our great system of government.
First, let me focus on a couple of the good things that have come out of this election. First, more people voted in this election than in prior elections, by a wide margin. The American people showed that they are not the apathetic, disinterested group they are portrayed as. They care deeply about what happens to this country, and about the place this country takes in the world community.
Second, despite the differences which the divided vote makes clear, we are all in agreement that this election should be resolved in a fair and peaceful manner. There has been no violence, no disrespect for the rule of law, and no desire to thwart the system which our founding fathers developed more than 200 years ago.
But we must be mindful of the harm both to our democracy and to our system of government that would result if a delay of more than a few days takes place. The ability of the United States to conduct its foreign policy, the stability of our financial markets, and our ability as a people to preserve the greatest system of government in the world would all be threatened if this election turns into a lengthy courtroom proceeding about a handful of votes in a handful of precincts in Florida.
Accordingly, I will not mount any legal challenges to the decisions of the Florida Board of Elections. I will also not participate in any legal proceedings brought by my opponents or others regarding the outcome of the Florida election. I will not challenge the results in other states where the vote tallies were also extremely close.
Finally, I pledge, should the ultimate decision be that I take the responsibilities of the Office of the Presidency, to appoint a bipartisan cabinet, made up of members of both political parties as well as independents, to lead the Executive Branch of our government over the next four years. Under the circumstances, I believe this is the only appropriate way to proceed. The people of this country, regardless of how the votes in any particular county are counted or re-counted, did not express overwhelming or even clear support for either party. Neither candidate received a majority. The Houses of Congress are each divided by fewer votes than at any time in our history. This is not a time, regardless of the outcome, for either party to promote a partisan agenda which clearly does not have the people's full support.
I will spend the next few days assembling a list of names of cabinet members should I be selected to take on the responsibilities as your President. I will announce those names at the earliest possible time. It may be many weeks before the court challenges being sponsored by the Vice President run their course. I will respect whatever the outcome of that process is. I will not authorize the filing of any appeals should the outcome of that process result in the office of the Presidency being awarded to the Vice President.
In closing, I would like to express my thanks to all of the 100 million American citizens who voted in this election. It is because of your participation that our system of government remains strong. To those who supported me, I ask that you respect whatever the ultimate decision of the court system is regarding the election. I ask that if my opponent takes the office, you accord him the same respect that any inhabitant of that office deserves. We must not harm our country merely to advance our own agenda.
Thank you. |
