What really matters is the spirit of the law, our interpretation of it. Never mind that there is historical case law precedent:
Lieberman: What Counts Is 'Spirit” of the Law, Not 'Legal Detail'
By Susan Jones
CNS Morning Editor
November 16, 2000
(CNSNews.com) - Two days - that's all the Gore campaign has left to prevent Florida from declaring a final winner in the hotly disputed presidential election. On Thursday morning, Gore's public relations offense continued, with Sen. Joe Lieberman telling the nation that it's the "spirit" of the law that counts - not "the technical, legal detail of the law."
Appearing live on NBC and other networks, Lieberman expressed his "disappointment" in George W. Bush for rejecting Al Gore's "very constructive offer" of Wednesday night.
He also said Secretary of State Katherine Harris, by refusing to include additional manual recounts in the Florida's vote totals, was "doing exactly the opposite of what a chief elections official of a state should do." He suggested she was abusing her discretion because of her Republican ties.
Lieberman said he wouldn't necessarily use the word 'steal' to describe what Republicans are doing with the Florida election results. "But honestly," he said, "the Secretary of State of Florida has acted in a way that seems to me to be so unilateral, one-sided and contrary to what the spirit of the law -- let alone court decisions in Florida suggest - which is that the whole intention of an election is to have the people's desires reflected in the outcome. Not to go by the technical, legal detail of the law."
Lieberman used his appearances on the network news shows Thursday morning to blame George W. Bush for what Democrats may ultimately do - that is, go to court to force a fresh vote in Palm Beach County, where so many voters were "confused" by those butterfly ballots.
"I'm afraid that to find justice, folks in Florida, let alone our campaign, are going to have to go back to court. And again, Vice President Gore offered an opportunity to Gov. Bush to end this all in a timely and just manner, and unfortunately Gov. Bush and Secretary of State Harris rejected that opportunity."
The New York Times reports that the Gore campaign, as part of its "endgame," is preparing legal motions to force another vote in Palm Beach County, which it sees as key to a possible Gore victory. According to the newspaper, the Gore campaign considers efforts to force a new vote "the nuclear button option."
On Thursday morning, Lieberman left no doubt about who he and Al Gore consider the legitimate president-elect: He told NBC's Katie Couric, "In my hearts of hearts, first I know what everyone knows, which is that Al Gore and I won the popular election; we got more votes than Gov. Bush and Secretary Cheney.
"Second, we're ahead in the electoral college. Third, I honestly believe that if every vote cast in Florida was counted, that Al Gore and I would have won Florida, would win Florida by thousands of votes, and would therefore win the election, so I think in fairness that ought to be tested."
Lieberman also noted, "The law of Florida allows for hand recounts," and he said that several counties want to do them. "There are Republicans and Democrats right there as the votes are being counted," he added, suggesting that George W. Bush was being unreasonable for rejecting Al Gore's Wednesday-night proposal.
Several times, Lieberman said he's "afraid" that the Gore campaign's only recourse will be in the courts, and he put the blame for that squarely on Bush, for rejecting Gore's Wednesday's night proposal.
In his proposal - which was timed to interrupt the Wednesday evening newscasts on the East Coast -- Gore offered to stop all Democratic lawsuits, if Bush would agree to abide by the results of a partial or statewide manual vote recount. Gore also offered to meet with Bush twice - before and after the election results are known.
Three hours later, Bush rejected a game plan that he called "arbitrary and chaotic," but he said he'd be glad to meet with Gore after the election is settled.
"I was disappointed by Gov. Bush's response to the offer last night, both at the quick and summary rejection of the terms of the offer, but even the refusal to sit down and meet with Al Gore, as Al proposed. A one-on-one meeting could not hurt," Lieberman said on ABC's Good Morning America. "Such a meeting would be the basis for "reuniting the country after this is all over."
Lieberman hinted that Gore will not concede the election, even if the courts eventually rule that manual recounts should be included in the final tally. If those revised vote totals, plus the overseas absentee ballots, still have Gore-Lieberman coming up short - would Gore concede then? Couric asked.
Lieberman said, "A decision has not been made on that." Then, he repeated that since Bush rejected Gore's Wednesday night proposal, the option of lawsuits must remain on the table.
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