The 2000 election was one of the closest elections in history and when the dust began to settle, it appeared the results in Florida would decide the election. The first count on the results, showed Bush to be the winner. Al Gore had already called Bush in Texas and conceded the election when his campaign manager, Richard Daley Jr (son of Mayor Daley of Chicago who was said by many to not have won the election to mayor for several years before he actually retired) apparently told Al Gore that he might have a chance to still take the election. So Gore called Bush and UNconceded. What followed was one of the wildest rides America ever took. Gore demanded a recount of the votes in Florida in an almost unprecedented move. During the recounts: 10,000 votes from Service personnel were disqualified because they had no mailing date on them (items mailed from Navy ships often do not carry a cancellation date) - these votes would have been mostly Republican votes

A machine recount showed Bush to be the winner by a narrow margin So Gore demanded a hand recount which included counting all votes which had been punched twice or mispunched as votes for Gore. This narrowed Bush's lead but he still led. Gore wanted to go on with the recounts but the hand recount would have not been completed by the deadline needed to send the electors to Washington to vote. The legislature tried to put an end to the nightmare and Gore took it to court. Finally Bush appealed to the Supreme Court and won the battle - the recount was declared unconstitutional and Bush took office. Democrats in Florida were sure that had the hand recount continued, Gore would have won so they decided to continue the recounting of the votes in several key counties - this effort lasted a year and at the end of the recounts, Bush STILL had a narrow lead over Gore. The reporting that Bush WON the hand recounts in Florida did make the news but was only a back page item. So ironically, some Americans still feel that Bush stole the election when in fact, it was Gore who TRIED to steal the election, under the leadership of Richard Daley, his campaign manager. The media did their part to try and sway the election. With only 2 percent of the vote in, on election night and polls still open in several parts of the country, they declared Gore the winner. Later on that night they had to take back their statements but the damage had been done. It is thought that the early declaration of Gore winning discouraged thousands of voters in the West who were planning to vote for Bush, from going to the polls. Lessons to remember It's never over until it's over. So regardless of what the media says this time, still go and vote. Your vote counts - can make the difference in a tight election If you watch the TV on election night, keep in mind they are making their predictions from a small percentage of the vote All of the above, I watched as an interested American - it could be seen if you followed it closely. For more fascinating behind the scenes information, read the following book: Sammon, Bill: AT ANY COST (NY, 2001) David Limbaugh review on this book Return to HistoryInfo