The Associated Press

Al Gore is trying to rally a skeptical public behind an unprecedented legal challenge to George W.

Tuesday, November 28, 2000

Al Gore is trying to rally a skeptical public behind an unprecedented legal challenge to George W. Bush’s certified election victory in Florida, telling Americans that "ignoring votes means ignoring democracy itself." His running mate sought on Tuesday to soothe those growing impatient with an election that has stretched on for three weeks.

Bush’s running mate, Dick Cheney, countered that what’s best for the country is to end the legal challenges and hand them the keys to the White House transition office.

A day after Bush began moving in earnest on a transition and Gore contested Florida’s election certification, their vice presidential candidates continued the campaigns on the morning talk shows.

"This is a matter of doing what we think is right, not just for us and the 50 million Americans who voted for us, but for our system, for history, to set a precedent," Joseph Lieberman, the Democratic vice presidential candidate, said on CBS’ "The Early Show."

"We’re very mindful of what is good for the country and we certainly don’t want this to go on for very long," he said.

Cheney said the Democrats, indeed, were trying to set a precedent – one that "was going to create some problems."

"It’s time to wrap this up that we’ve had the election, we’ve had the count, we’ve had the recount now we’ve had the certification of George W. Bush as the winner," Cheney said on NBC’s "Today" show.

He said the Bush team is "rapidly running out of time to put together that new administration."

Gore’s remarks, carried live on prime time television Monday night, closed a day full of legal and rhetorical skirmishing.

Bush’s legal team had written arguments to submit to the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington in support of the Texas governor’s lawsuit challenging the validity of manual recounts conducted in Florida.

Members of Gore’s legal team said they were hoping to provide Bush’s lawyers with their evidence and witness lists by Wednesday in their state court challenge to the Texas governor’s 537-vote victory in Florida.

Gore’s challenge to the results in Palm Beach, Nassau and Miami-Dade counties is before Circuit Judge N. Sanders Sauls, a jurist known for swift action. He told lawyers on Monday he understood their difficulty in trying to get the case resolved before the Dec. 12 deadline for selecting Florida’s 25 electors.

Another interested party, the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature, was taking a step toward a special session that could result in appointment of its own slate of electors. A special joint committee was scheduled to meet for the first time to discuss election issues.

The candidate who has the support of the state’s electors stands to become the 43rd president, since without Florida, neither Bush nor Gore can command a 270-vote Electoral College majority.

Gore and Cheney had one thing in common on Monday. Each spoke against a backdrop of a dozen or so American flags, meant to convey an image of legitimacy and presidential prestige.

Beyond that their messages served political aims that were poles apart.

Gore’s nationally broadcast remarks capped a day of persistent effort that enlisted President Clinton as well as the Democratic leaders of Congress to firm up public support for his court challenge in Florida. And thus far, only a few scattered voices of Democratic dissent had surfaced.

Cheney’s comments were designed to convey the notion that the election was over and Bush was its winner.

Public opinion polls pointed to an uphill climb for the vice president. A CNN-USA Today-Gallup survey, released just before Gore spoke, showed 56 percent of those polled believe the vice president should concede, and 38 percent believed he should not. A Washington Post poll yielded approximately the same result.

"There are some who would have us bring this election to the fastest conclusion possible," the vice president said. I have a different view. I believe our Constitution matters more than convenience."

He said he had decided to contest "this inaccurate and complete count" in Florida, and added there has yet to be a single, full and accurate count."

He added that if he loses in the end, "so be it," and if he wins, "so be it….

"But whatever the outcome, let the people have their say, and let us listen. Ignoring votes means ignoring democracy itself."

In a new twist Monday night, a Palm Beach County official said the results of a manual recount of thousands of presidential ballots did not match up with figures from the last machine count, conducted Nov. 12.

Denise Cote, a county spokeswoman, said "unaudited figures" from the manual recount were sent to state elections officials for certification, though that doesn’t mean the numbers were wrong. She refused to discuss details. The manual recount was rejected Sunday by Secretary of State Katherine Harris because it arrived incomplete, throwing out a net gain of 180 votes for Gore.

Bush made only the briefest of appearances in public on Monday, and did not speak. Instead, he busied himself with what aides said were transition meetings in the state Capitol in Austin, Texas, and dispatched Cheney to make the case the election is over.

"Every vote in Florida has been counted. Every vote in Florida has been recounted. Some have been counted three times," he said.

Gore and Lieberman "are apparently still unwilling to accept the outcome. That is unfortunate in light of the penalty that may have to be paid at some future date if the next administration is not allowed to prepare to take the reins of government," he added.

He said it was "regrettable" that the Clinton administration had declined to make available to office space in Washington and $5.3 million Congress approved for the transition. Cheney said Republicans would begin raising private funds to allow them to proceed.