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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: TigerPaw who wrote (92709)	11/28/2000 6:09:44 PM
From: jlallen	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769670

Not really. We were wondering how those schmuck Dems could have picked Whopper Al. He's gone even lower than expected. Gore ought to keep the lesson of Aaron Burr in mind. JLA

To: TigerPaw who wrote (92709)	11/28/2000 11:25:02 PM
From: Neocon	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769670

POLL RELEASES November 28, 2000 Americans Becoming Impatient With Election Uncertainty Public opposes legal efforts by Gore to contest Florida certification of Bush as winner, but still divided on whether Bush really won in Florida by David W. Moore GALLUP NEWS SERVICE PRINCETON, NJ -- In the wake of the certification of George W. Bush as the winner in Florida, and as Al Gore officially takes steps to contest the Florida results, a new CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll suggests that an increasing number of Americans are ready to see the 2000 election come to an end -- even though about half of all Americans are not sure that Bush really won in Florida. The poll was conducted November 26-27, after Florida's Secretary of State, Katherine Harris, issued the certification, but before Gore gave his reply to the country on Monday evening. The poll shows that 62% of Americans feel that the election situation has gone on too long, while 37% say they are willing to wait a little longer. Last week, there was significantly more patience from the public -- with a slight margin in favor of waiting, 51% to 48%. Furthermore, by a margin of 56% to 38%, Americans now say that Gore should concede the election, while last week the public was evenly divided -- with 46% on either side of the issue. In addition, 57% of Americans say they disapprove of Gore's efforts to contest the Florida election, while just 40% approve. In general, these views are highly partisan, with Republicans giving overwhelming support to Bush's position and Democrats giving considerably weaker support to Gore's position. Independents tend to break substantially in favor of Bush. Public Still Divided on Whether Bush Really Won in Florida Although Americans favor a Gore concession, just 51% say that Bush really won the election in Florida, while 49% say that they are unsure who won (32%), that Gore won (15%) or that they have no opinion on the matter (2%). Among Americans who favor Bush, 93% are convinced he won in Florida, and only 7% say they are unsure. But 51% of Gore supporters are unsure, while 35% think their candidate won -- with just 13% accepting the official certification of Bush as correct. Among the 18% of Americans who express no preference for either candidate, 53% are unsure who won, and another 5% think Gore won -- leaving just 37% who are convinced by the Florida certification of Bush as victor. Gore Losing Support Two weeks ago, Americans approved of the way that Bush and Gore were handling the results of the election by similar margins, but today Americans disapprove of Gore's actions by 54% to 42%, while they approve of Bush's actions by 54% to 41%. Also, when Americans are asked whether they would accept Gore as the legitimate president if he is declared the winner and inaugurated next January, 74% say they would -- compared with 84% who say that about Bush under similar circumstances. Two weeks ago, 79% said they would accept Bush and 82% said they would accept Gore. One reason that Gore may be losing support is that the public tends to see the events in Florida more benignly than does the Gore camp. Overall, 49% of Americans say they approve of the way Secretary of State Harris has handled the situation there, while 40% disapprove -- virtually the same as the results of a week ago. Furthermore, 54% agreed with her decision to exclude ballots submitted by Palm Beach County after the 5:00 p.m. deadline on Sunday, while only 44% felt she should have given the county more time. Election Uncertainty Seen as Problem, With No Permanent Harm to U.S. Despite their growing impatience, Americans continue to regard the election uncertainty as mostly a "major problem" (50%) rather than a constitutional crisis (10%). In addition, another 29% say the current election situation is only a minor problem, and 9% say it is no problem at all. Over the past two weeks, there has been little change in this view. Two weeks ago, 15% of Americans said the election situation was a constitutional crisis, and last week 10% expressed that view -- the same as this week. The number who feel the situation is a major problem was at 49% two weeks ago, then just 44% last week, and has now climbed back to its previous level. These relatively stable views are reflected in the response Americans give about the potential harm done to the United States because of the election process. Overall, 62% say there has been no permanent harm, although 37% disagree. There are only minor differences in this view among Bush and Gore supporters. gallup.com

To: TigerPaw who wrote (92709)	11/28/2000 11:30:27 PM
From: Neocon	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 769670

6 in 10 Say Gore Should Concede Poll: Americans Say It’s Time for the Election to End Analysis By Gary Langer, ABC News N E W Y O R K, Nov. 27 — With George W. Bush declared the winner in Florida, six in 10 Americans say it should end here. Sixty percent in an ABCNEWS/Washington Post poll say Al Gore should concede the election and let Bush become president. Just 35 percent say Gore instead should ask the courts to review Florida’s vote count, as his lawyers have indicated he will do. Americans continue to divide evenly on which man they prefer to see take office. The difference is that 26 percent of Gore’s own supporters want him to give up the fight. Ninety-two percent of Bush’s supporters, naturally, also want Gore to concede. Fair vs. Closure While most want Gore to step aside, not all of them mean that as an endorsement of the Florida count. Fewer than half of Americans, 40 percent, say they want Gore to concede mainly because they think the vote count was fair. Seventeen percent want him to step aside mainly for another reason: because they “want this to be over with.” Indeed, the Florida count does not get a rousing vote of confidence. Most Americans, 56 percent, do express at least some confidence that the count was accurate. But only 27 percent are “very confident” in the accuracy of the Florida count; nearly as many, 21 percent, are not confident in it at all. As has been the case all along, partisan views divide the public very sharply. Among Bush supporters, 80 percent express at least some confidence in the Florida count. Among Gore supporters, this dives to 33 percent. Some Wiggle Room for Gore? Gore may have a little wiggle room in public opinion: A smallish majority, 53 percent, feels “strongly” that he should step aside. And six in 10 say they would accept him as legitimately elected if he ultimately were to emerge as president. But more — 76 percent — say they’d view Bush as legitimately elected. Whoever does win will have wounds to heal: Among Gore’s supporters, 53 percent say they’d consider Bush as legitimately elected — hardly a ringing endorsement. And among those who support Bush even fewer, just 37 percent, say they’d regard Gore as legitimate. End It Quickly Fifty-seven percent say it’s more important “for this to end quickly” than for each side to have the chance to make its full arguments in court, the same as it was in the last ABCNEWS/Washington Post poll, on Nov. 16. That’s a sign of fatigue, but also of partisanship. Eighty-three percent of Bush supporters want it to “end quickly.” That declines to 30 percent of Gore supporters. Not surprisingly, among those who want it to end quickly, 82 percent say Gore should concede. Among those who say it’s more important for the candidates to have their full say in court, just 29 percent want Gore to step aside. Most, 56 percent, also say it was right for Florida’s secretary of state to hold Palm Beach County to a 5 p.m. Sunday deadline for its vote count, rather than granting the extension to 9 a.m. Monday that the county had requested. Support for the secretary’s action soars to 78 percent among those who favor a quick end to the election saga, and to 89 percent of Bush supporters. Just 22 percent of Gore supporters approve of her decision. Other Venues The public divides on two other venues for this controversy. A majority, 58 percent, approves of the U.S. Supreme Court stepping into the matter by accepting the Bush campaign’s request that it review the Florida vote count. In this case, support is higher among Gore’s supporters than among Bush’s. At the same time, 59 percent say they would oppose the Florida legislature getting involved in determining the winner of the election there. The Chad Question The public divides on the question — crucial to the Gore campaign — of dimpled chads. Forty-five percent say these indented ballots should be counted as votes; 48 percent say they should not be counted. Again, as in so many of these views, partisanship plays a strong role. Among Gore’s supporters, 65 percent say dimpled chads should count as votes. But among those who back Bush, just 23 percent say the dimples should count. Split Preferences And the public’s basic preference? After all this, it’s still split as evenly as ever. Forty-three percent say they’d like to see Bush as president; 42 percent Gore. Someone has to win, but this election, for all intents and purposes, is still essentially a dead heat. Methodology This ABCNEWS/Washington Post poll was conducted by telephone Nov. 26, 2000, among a random national sample of 607 adults. The results have a four-point error margin. Field work by TNS Intersearch of Horsham, Penn. abcnews.go.com