I'm not a fan of Bush, but I'm diametrically opposed to Gore's dirty tactics. It amazes me that after 8 years of trailer trash in our nation's best house that we want another 4. I feel Gore will end up winning. He will lose in 2004 most definately, hopefully the pubs can get a better candidate by then. (mccain?) Anyways, it's nice to see Gore act like he can give and take recounts as he pleases. This is nothing more than a PR move. They know Bush can not take him up on his offer now after going on about handcounts being less reliable than machine counts, or was that it was unfair to handcount just selective counties?
Gore's Speech, it's a nice BS job at least 🙂 (got to respect that)
"GORE: This has been an extraordinary eight days for the American people, and I wanted to speak with you briefly about how I believe we should conclude this election.
The campaign is over, but a test of our democracy is now under way. It is a test we must pass, and it is a test we will pass with flying colors. All we need is a common agreement that what is at stake here is not who wins and who loses in a contest for the presidency, but how we honor our Constitution and make sure that our democracy works as our founders intended it to work.
This is a time to respect every voter and every vote. This is a time to honor the true will of the people. So our goal must be what is right for America.
There is a simple reason that Florida law and the law in many other states calls for a careful check by real people of the machine results in elections like this one.
The reason? Machines can sometimes misread or fail to detect the way ballots are cast, and when there are serious doubts, checking the machine count with a careful hand count is accepted far and wide as the best way to know the true intentions of the voters.
That is why there have already been partial or complete hand counts not just in two Democratic counties in Florida, but in six Republican counties as well.
We need a resolution that is fair and final. We need to move expeditiously to the most complete and accurate count that is possible. And that is why I propose this evening a way to settle this matter with finality and justice in a period of days, not weeks.
First, we should complete hand counts already begun in Palm Beach County, Dade County and Broward County to determine the true intentions of the voters based on an objective evaluation of their ballots.
Observers and participants from both parties should be present in every counting room, as required under Florida law.
The results of this recount would, of course, be added to the present certified vote total and the overseas absentee vote total. If this happens, I will abide by the result, I will take no legal action to challenge the result, and I will not support any legal action to challenge the result.
I am also prepared, if Governor Bush prefers, to include in this recount all the counties in the entire state of Florida. I would also be willing to abide by that result and agree not to take any legal action to challenge that result. If there are no further interruptions to the process, we believe the count can be completed with seven days of the time it starts.
Now, second, I propose that Governor Bush and I meet personally, one on one, as soon as possible, before the vote count is finished, not to negotiate, but to improve the tone of our dialogue in America. We should both call on all of our supporters to respect the outcome of this election, whatever it may be. We should both call on all our supporters to prepare themselves to close ranks as Americans and unite the country behind the winner as soon as this process is completed.
Shortly after the results are known, we should both come together for another meeting, to reaffirm our national unity. If I turn out to be successful, I'll be ready to travel to Governor Bush's home. If I am not, I'll be ready to meet him wherever he wishes.
I would also like to urge all of those speaking for either of us to do their part to lift up this discourse, to refrain from using inflammatory language, and to avoid statements that could make it harder for our country to come together once the counting is over. That is the direction I have given to my own campaign.
I don't know what the final results will show, but I do know this is about much more than what happens to me or my opponent; it is about our democracy. My faith is in the people's will, in our Constitution and in our system of self-government.
Thank you, God bless you and God bless America. "
Bush's Rejection
"Good evening. Tonight, Secretary Cheney and I thank the many thousands of Americans who have written or called or e-mailed to offer prayers and encouragement as we all await the outcome of the election.
I'm sure that Vice President Gore and Senator Lieberman are receiving similar good wishes, and would want to join us in thanking our fellow Americans for their caring and concern.
No matter who you voted for in this election, whether you supported Vice President Gore or whether you supported me, all Americans want a fair and accurate count of the votes in Florida, a fair and accurate count that measures up to the highest standards and principles outlined in our Constitution and our laws.
As we work to conclude this election, we should be guided by three principles: This process must be fair, this process must be accurate, and this process must be final.
First, the election must be fair: fair to voters throughout America, fair to voters in Florida, and fair to voters in different counties in Florida. I honor and respect the value of every single vote. That's why my campaign supported the automatic recount of all the votes in Florida.
Everyone in Florida has had his or her vote counted once. Those votes have been recounted. In some counties they have been counted a third and even fourth time.
And that brings us to the second principle: accuracy. This process must be accurate. As Americans have watched on television, they have seen for themselves that manual counting, with individuals making subjective decisions about voter intent, introduces human error and politics into the vote-counting process.
Each time these voting cards are handled the potential for errors multiplies. Additional manual counts of votes that have been counted and recounted will make the process less accurate, not more so.
Third, not for the Vice President Gore, or for me, but for America, this process must have a point of conclusion, a moment when America and the world know who is the next president.
This is precisely why the laws of the state of Florida have deadlines for certification of the election vote. One of them came last night, and tonight, Florida's chief election official and the state's election canvassing commission have reaffirmed it as their responsibilities require.
The next and final deadline comes Friday at midnight, when overseas absentee ballots must have been received to be counted in Florida. I don't know who these ballots will support and neither does Vice President Gore.
The votes of Florida have been counted. They have been recounted and tonight they have been certified and we do not know yet who has won.
The way to conclude this election in a fair and accurate and final way is for the state of Florida to count the remaining overseas ballots, add them to the certified vote, and announce the results as required by Florida law.
I was encouraged tonight that Vice President Gore called for a conclusion to this process. We all agree.
Unfortunately, what the vice president proposed is exactly what he's been proposing all along: continuing with selective hand recounts that are neither fair nor accurate, or compounding the error by extending a flawed process statewide.
This means every vote in Florida would be evaluated differently, by different individuals using different judgment, and perhaps different local standards, or perhaps no standards at all.
This would be neither fair nor accurate; it would be arbitrary and chaotic.
At this unique moment in our nation's history, all of us have responsibilities. We have a responsibility to conduct ourselves with dignity and honor. We have a responsibility to make sure that those who speak for us do not poison our politics. And we have a responsibility to respect the law and not seek to undermine it when we do not like its outcome.
The outcome of this election will not be the result of deals or efforts to mold public opinion. The outcome of this election will be determined by the votes and by the law.
Once this election is over, I would be glad to meet with Vice President Gore, and I join him in pledging that regardless of who wins after this weekend's final count, we will work together to unite our great country.
Thank you and God bless America."
Sound like similar BS jobs to me, nothing new here.
