4 - The Michigan Daily - Special Edition - Thursday, December 14, 2000
ELECTION 2000
Gore's decision c!.r
soon after Courrulg
Los Angeles Times Lieberman. "There wasn't a big, long, drawn-out meeting,'
the aide said. "It was clear there was little wriggle room."
WASHINGTON - As late as 10 p.m. Tuesday, Al Gore Shortly before 2 a.m., Gore said that he would hold off his
thought he still had a chance - a chance that one of the decision overnight. But there was little doubt which way he
"swing" justices on the Supreme Court might move his way was leaning, several advisers said.
and bring his campaign back to life. The lawyers worked all night long. By dawn, they had pro-
"I've been back from the dead a couple of times," he told an duced a brief that, in eflect, would ask the Florida Supreme
old friend. "Maybe all is not lost." Court for permission to make their new arguments.
But by 2 a.m. yesterday, when Gore went to bed after a har- But when Gore got up yesterday morning, it took him little
rowing night, the Democratic nominee knew he had almost time to decide.
certainly lost his long battle for the presidency, advisers said. Overnight, a slowly building chorus of Democrats had
He let eager lawyers in Tallahassee, Fla., work overnight, begun calling on him - both privately and publicly - to
looking desperately for what one called "a glimmer of hope," withdraw. "I think the American people are ready for it to
a way to persuade the Florida Supreme Court to start recount- end," Sen. John B. Breaux (D-La.) said.
ing votes again. But even they could tell About 8 a.m., Gore talked with
that Gore's thinking was beginning to By 2 a.m. yesterday, Daley. At 8:30 a.m., Daley called Klain
shift to the end game. in Tallahassee to "pull the plug," one
At dawn, the exhausted lawyers he s femocrarc aide said.
faxed their findings to Washington. At 9 a.m., Gore's senior staff con-
About 8 a.m., Gore telephoned cam- nominee knew he ferred in a conference call. There were
paign chairman Bill Daley.h ,t t no arguments against the vice presi-
It didn't make sense to prolong the .Tr dent's decision, just a discussion of
battle further, Gore told his aides. The how a public statement should be
odds of success were too low. lnh a b t e imade.
At 10 a.m., 12 hours after the for the presidency. They recommended a formal state-
Supreme Court issued its opinion, Daley __ _ment on prime-time television yester-
released a laconic public statement: "The day evening, to get the biggest possible
vice president has directed the recount committee to suspend audience. But they also decided on a quick statement in the
activities." morning - to avoid suffering through a day of speculation
Gore's presidential campaign was over. over whether Gore was keeping his dying campaign alive.
"He was very cool, calm and collected," said one adviser At 9:30 a.m., Gore telephoned the lawyers in Tallahassee to
who spoke with Gore several times. "I'd be a lot angrier if I thank them fortheir work. Some wept.
were in his place." Even at the end, Gore's reactions were At 10 a.m., Daley issued his statement.
characteristically cautious and analytical. "It was a careful And by 10:15 a.m., Gore was ois the telephone again -
exercise," the adviser said. "He wanted his best legal thinkers first with President Clinton, who called from Ireland, and then
to see if anything was there." asking friends and allies for advice on his television speech.
The last 12 hours of the Gore campaign began in confusion, The Gore residence was once again full of aides Daley,
as the vice president and his aides scrambled to figure out political consultants Robert Shrum and Carter Eskew, and
exactly what the Supreme Court had said in its ruling. speechwriter Eli Attie --working on the text.
Gore got the first news from CNN, one aide said - but the Aides and friends insisted that throughout the last week,
network's correspondents were not sure what the decision Gore never talked about whether or not lie should run again
meant. "There was a period of time when no one understood for the presidency in four years.
what was going on, including us,' said an aide to vice presi- But Gore has rebutted them.
dential nominee Joseph Lieberman. "He doesn't want to talk about it the friend said.
In a series of conference calls that lasted almost 90 minutes, "This is really painful" ie said. "And he's got to take some
Daley and lawyers Roml Klain and David Boies finally deci- time off to relax and unwind and enjoy himself, which he
phered the decision and delivered their diagnosis to Gore and hasn't done for years."
President-elect
George W. Bush
waves with hisu
trademark "W",
sign, after his r
victory speech in4,
the Texas House of
Representativess
Chambers at thez
state Capitol in
Austin, Texas, last
night.
Vice President Al Gore gets a hug from running mate Joe Lieberman as daughter Karenna GoreSchiff watches after he gave
his concession speech at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building yesterday in Washington.
itOVen dent ready
to moeafter battle
By Nick Bunkley
Daily News Editor
In the waning hours of Al Gore's
extended presidential campaign yester-
day, students of all political leanings
breathed a collective sigh of relief and
prepared to welcome George W. Bush
as the nation's next leader.
More than a month after the polls
closed, Gore's concession last night
means the vice president's supporters
must now accept that Bush will reside
in the White H-louse for at least the next
four years.
"We're just going to wait and see
how he does," Students for Gore Chair
Alicia Johnson said of the Republican
Texas governor. "Hopefully he'll do a
good job"
Republicans and Democrats alike
agree it is time for the nation to sew up
the partisan rifts that have developed
during the 36-day post-Election Day
dispute.
"It's been a long and drawn-out
process, to say the least," said Students
for Bush co-Chair John Carter, an
LSA sophomore.
Carter, one of many students who
spent the day studying for final exams
while awaiting Gore's prime-time
address to the nation, said the vice
president should have acknowledged
his fate and brought the saga to a close
sooner.
"I can sympathize with him for
fighting on, but for the stabilityof the
country I would have liked to see him
concede ... before now," Carter said.
Meanwhile Democrats, even as
court rulings and recounts failed to
give Gore an advantage over Bush,
didn't give up until Gore finally
stepped aside last night. Following a
ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court
issued late Tuesday, few options
remained for the vice president to con-
tinue his quest.
"We're all pretty upset about that,
said Johnson, an LSA junior. "We kep
up hope. It's too bad that a lot of peo-
pie are losing faith in the political sys-
tem."
LSA sophomore Doug Tietz, who
also co-chairs Students for Bush on
campus, said Gore's fight in Florida
wound up legitimizing the Texas gov-
ernor's victory.
"The recounts have been good
because each and every time George
W. Bush has won, and that's what it
really comes down to," Tietz said.
"They've counted and recounted, and
he's won. No matter what excuse you
can make, he won"
Johnson may not be around in four
years, but she is confident Students for
Gore will reappear on campus in time
for the 2004 presidential campaign.
"I'm sure," she said. "I have no
doubt."
Bush fourti
BUSH
Continued from Page 1
message of prayer and healing," she said.
Each move was calculated to heal divisions
caused by the brutal, five-week election post-
script. His mandate in doubt, Bush already is
being urged to curb his legislative agenda, par-
ticularly the $1.3 trillion program of tax cuts
over 10 years.
Across the nation, Americans took stock and
looked forward - with hope and doubts.
"The most important thing is that we've got-
ten a new president without violence, without
undue civil unrest, and that speaks highly of
our country, our democracy," said Tobey
Lewallen, a salesman from Williamsburg,
Mich, who voted for Bush.
Anthony Joern, a college professor in Lin-
coln, Neb., who backed Gore, questioned
whether Bush would be able to lead the nation,
saying, "I think his stated ability to be a con-
sensus builder is much overblown."
Speaking for many was Mark Abbey, who
works in a bar in Topeka, Kan. "The biggest
part,"he said, "is I'm glad it's over."
Reacting to Democratic criticism, U.S.
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas told
to win White House while losing popular vote
high school students that the court is not
influenced by the politics of the presidency or
Congress.
"We happen to be in the same city but we
might as well be on entirely different planets,"
said Thomas, nominated to the bench by
Bush's father. "We have no axes to grind."
A few miles away, the doors to a government-
run transition office were readied to be open to
Bush by the General Services Administration. A
formal ceremony was scheduled for today. Flori-
da's GOP-led Legislature also awaited word
from Gore, deferring plans to appoint a backup
slate of state electors loyal to Bush.
Gore topped his GOP rival by more than
300,000 votes out of 103 million ballots cast
nationwide. But Florida's 25 electoral votes, to
be cast Dec. 18 and counted Jan. 6, would give
Bush a total of 271 -- one more than the 270
required to win the presidency, and four more
than Gore.
And thus closed an election for the history
books, the closest in 124 years. On inauguration
Day Jan. 20, the Texas governor will become:
The first presidential candidate since Ben-
jamin Harrison in 1888 - and only the fourth
in American history -- to lose the national
popular vote but win the state electoral contest,
thus the White House. larrison's foe, Grover
Cleveland, rebounded to win the presidency in
1893, offering a glimmer of hope for Gore
who, at 52, may want to make another run at
the White house.
* The nation's second father-son presiden-
tial team after John Adams (1791-1801) and
John Quincy Adams (1825-1829). Bush has
relied on his well-to-do family's connections,
both to raise money and build the foundation
of a new administration.
Andrew Card, Colin Powell, Condoleezza
Rice and GOP running mate Dick Cheney held
top positions in the first Bush presidency and
are slated for senior roles in the second.
Cheney visited conservative Republicans on
Capitol hill, telling reporters afterward, "We're
moving forward on the transition."
Bush may soon join Cheney in the nation's
capital; aides said that a trip to Washington
next week was being planned, including a cour-
tesy call on President Clinton, congressional
Democrats.
"I know Arnerica wants reconciliation and
unity," Bush told the nation. "I know Ameri-
cans want progress. And we must seize this
moment and deliver."
Advisers said Democrats are under consider-
"he long trail that has kept the nation in
suspense since November 7th is now over."
ation for Cabinet posts, including Sen. John
Breaux (D-La.). Also mentioned in GOP cir-
cles: Rep. Charles Stenholm (D-Texas), former
Sens. J. Bennett Johnston (D-La.) and Sam
Nunn (D-Ga.) and former Dallas Democratic
Party chairman Sandy Kress.
Bush's schedule is in flux, but aides said a
presidential-style news conference was likely
this week. They debated whether to roll out
White House staff and Cabinet appointments
or delay the activity while Bush builds an
image as a uniter.
With the Senate evenly split, the House nearly
so and Florida falling to Bush by a near-invisible
537 votes, it was fitting that the U.S. Supreme
Court voted 5-4 against recounts in the state - a
decision they nine justices knew was tantamount
to awarding Bush the White House.
Democrats laid down their political markers
for 2002, when Congress will be up for grabs,
- Dennis Hastert
House speaker
suggesting that wounds inflicted in the recount
war will still be grist for the next campaign.
Sen. Patrick Leahy, ranking Democrat on the
Senate Judiciary Committee, said the "majority
has dealt the court a serious blow by taking
actions many Americans will consider to be
political rather than judicial."
The party's core constituencies, particularly
minorities, seemed the most stung by Gore's
defeat. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-tll.) called
the high court "a willing tool of the Bush
campaign" that orchestrated "a velvet legal
coup."
After eight years of Democratic control in
the White House, Republicans promised cc#if
promise and consensus. "The long trail that has
kept the nation in suspense since November 7th
is now over," said House Speaker Dennis
Hastert. "Now, as a nation, we must come
together."
A crowd gathers to watch Bush on a television at the Princeton University student center in Princeton, N.J., yesterday after Gore's concession speech.