From: MICHAEL SPITZER 
Subject: NYT: A Positive Step From Mr. Gore
Date: 17 Nov 2000 05:04:29 -0500
To: Conspiracy Theory Research List , iufo@topica.com

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http://www.nytimes.com/2000/11/16/opinion/16THU1.html

November 16, 2000
 
OPINION

A Positive Step From Mr. Gore

Missed Opportunity in Florida

Vice President Al Gore offered a sensible way out of the legal
and electoral quagmire in Florida yesterday when he pledged to
abide by the results and not to sue if a complete hand recount
was carried out in three critical Florida counties. Mr. Gore also
said he would abide by a statewide hand count if his opponent,
Gov. George W. Bush, preferred that approach. Mr. Bush's swift
rejection of the proposal was a disappointment on civic grounds,
a political mistake and unsound as to his reasoning that a manual
recount would be "arbitrary and chaotic."

It is the continued lack of agreement that is producing chaos,
all the more so given Mr. Bush's inflexibility and Secretary of
State Katherine Harris's defiant insistence on certifying a vote
that is still incomplete. Mr. Gore's proposal was right on the
substance and also tactically smart. One thing that has been
missing during the weeklong drama over Florida's vote has been
signs of presidential- scale leadership from either candidate.
The public has been hungry both for resolution of the election
and for Mr. Gore and Mr. Bush to quit hiding behind lawyers and
spokesmen.

Mr. Gore has now responded creatively to the situation while Mr.
Bush emerged from the seclusion of his ranch only to turn down a
real opportunity to negotiate a procedural agreement that the
public would trust.

In his statement last night, Mr. Bush declared that he wanted the
election counting to be fair, accurate and final, but his
stubbornness will prevent that result. So far, the Bush
campaign's attempts to block the manual recount have failed to
win favor in both state and federal court. Moreover, Mr. Gore's
proposal for a binding resolution put in a bad light Governor
Bush's insistence on blocking an authoritative recount. The
governor is depending on Ms. Harris, a Bush campaign official, to
pre-emptively certify the results in Mr. Bush's favor once all
the overseas votes are counted on Saturday. Ms. Harris, who
served as co-chairwoman of the Bush campaign in Florida this
year, announced last evening that she would accept no further
manual vote counts. That is an abuse of her public duty and an
irresponsible act at this sensitive moment in the nation's
political life. She is doing grievous damage to Mr. Bush's
reputation, and potentially to his presidency. Already trailing
in the national popular vote, Mr. Bush should take every effort
to avoid being the beneficiary of a hasty, incomplete vote count
in Florida.

Earlier in the day, there was progress toward resolving the
electoral impasse in Florida when the state's highest court
rejected Ms. Harris's request to block the hand count. But until
the vice president made his move, neither candidate appeared to
be taking seriously the fact that the public has been taking
their measure throughout this bizarre interlude. So the vice
president seized one of those moments when it is possible for a
candidate to appear statesmanlike and also gain a political
advantage. But Mr. Bush failed to respond in kind.

Mr. Gore's offer has weight because he proposed giving up
something of value ó the right to sue ó in return for the fair
count he needs and the country desires. Mr. Gore, who has been
privately combative throughout this period, was also smart to put
on a magnanimous public face. However calculated, his offer to
meet with Mr. Bush to raise the the tone of the battle is likely
to win widespread approval. Also, Mr. Gore's proposal that the
two men form a compact of mutual support once a winner is
determined represents a sound step toward an orderly transition.
Mr. Bush was unwise to dismiss Mr. Gore's proposals, though he
did agree to meet with the vice president after the outcome of
the election is determined.

In arguing against the hand count, Mr. Bush was asking the nation
to decide its most important election on something other than the
best available count in the admittedly flawed situation at hand.
He was also ignoring Florida law and Texas law that regard hand
counts as a just recourse in contested elections. Under Mr.
Gore's plan the votes can be counted in a week and a winner in
the long presidential race can be declared without further delay.
Victory is important to both Mr. Bush and Mr. Gore, and for a few
hours Wednesday night, a plan was on the table that would have
given them both a fair chance at that victory. Today, there is
still time for good judgment to prevail in putting the principles
Mr. Gore described into place in Florida. But whatever happens,
neither side should take this disagreement as an excuse to go to
all-out litigation over a problem that still needs to be settled
in the political arena.

Copyright 2000 The New York Times Company



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             Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh, YHVH, TZEVAOT

  FROM THE DESK OF:
                     *Michael Spitzer*  
                      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  The Best Way To Destroy Enemies Is To Change Them To Friends
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