>al gore will win and the MAJORITY view will be that he stole it
I think most people are a lot smarter than that and will recognize that given the 8000-20000 votes already denied Gore due to technicalities (doesn't matter who caused them, the voters are the ones cheated), Gore would already be the winner. I see Bush simply trying to keep this miscarriage from being rectified.
But I agree that manual recounts wherever the punchcard was used in Florida would provide the most unambiguous vote possible (and yes, I believe that under the scrutiny they face, it will be 100.0% honest in all districts).
I have to wonder how many other elections all of the US in the last 40 years have been misawarded due to the punch card phenomenon alone. I think any close race in history is now suspect. Quite a flaw in our system.
But the ultimate point is that without this ballot-mechanism weakness and the butterfly ballot, Gore would now be President-elect. Under a populist vote, he would also be President-elect. However way you look at it, the voters were cheated in that county especially.
I hardly believe those that say Gore should simply capitulate would not themselves be making the exact same arguments had the tables been turned. Especially if Bush had lost between 8000 and 20000 votes in West Palm Beach due to a poor layout designed by a person from the Democratic party. To me, it is already an unethical lead for Bush, and either it will remain so and he will be handed the victory be default, or the election will be returned to rightful winner.
But whichever way it goes, I agree that the "mandate" will be the weakest in my lifetime, and with a near-balance in the House & the Senate, it could likely be a miserable 4 years out there. |
