Read this if you want something to make your toes curl...
foxnews.com
White House Blasts
New DNC Chief
Monday, February 5, 2001
WASHINGTON — A White House spokesman fired back at the new head of the Democratic Party for questioning the legitimacy of President Bush's election, saying such remarks hurt efforts to build unity in Washington.
Terry McAuliffe was picked Saturday as chairman of the Democratic National Committee.
In his acceptance speech, he said of the election: "If Katherine Harris, Jeb Bush, Jim Baker and the U.S. Supreme Court hadn't tampered with the results, Al Gore would be president, George Bush would be back in Austin, and John Ashcroft would be home reading Southern Partisan magazine."
White House press secretary Ari Fleischer on Monday called the remarks "disappointing."
"I think that continuing to question the legitimacy of an election — I'm not certain that even the Democrats in the Congress would share that point of view — is not a wise way to begin tenure," Fleischer said.
McAuliffe's comments reflected an "old Washington" mindset, he said. Bush, in contrast, is trying to bring a new climate marked "by principled disagreements and by civility," he said.
DNC spokeswoman Jenny Backus said McAuliffe said nothing inappropriate, and she reiterated the party's view that Bush stole the election.
"President Bush may be disappointed by Terry's speech, but he's not nearly as disappointed as the tens of thousands of Floridians whose votes weren't counted in the last election," she said. |
