The election was so close in so many states, why shouldn't I believe that Bush was a likely to win as Gore? You say that all evidence points to the contrary, I say that that is speculation, and elections deal in fact. No tricks were required for the outcome, that is a rationalization of the Gore forces for the fact that there was no groundswell of support for their candidate, and that by the rules, he lost.
With a shift of a few thousand votes potentially moving other states to Bush, and allegations of fraud in other localities, like Milwaukee and Madison, I am not even convinced that Gore legitimately won the nationwide popular vote, but it doesn't matter, and it was better not to cast more doubt on the integrity of the process. There is now ample confirmation that the early call for Gore in Florida suppressed votes in the panhandle, after surveying registered voters in the area, and therefore reason to believe that Bush's margin would have been greater without network interference. That is one of the reasons why it can never be a matter of absolute justice, because I can match my speculations about the will of the people being thwarted against yours any day. Thus, we are left with the rules, which is that one counts validly cast ballots showing clear intent according to well- defined rules. Bingo, Bush wins....... |
