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2000/11/16 [Politics/Domestic/President/Bush] UID:19798 Activity:nil |
11/16 http://Salon.com still living in fantasy land: http://salon.com/politics/feature/2000/11/16/flunk/print.html \_ Salon is always in fantasy land. The only redeeming quality, is that this bs doesn't masquerade a front page news like it does ny times. |
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salon.com/politics/feature/2000/11/16/flunk/print.html -> archive.salon.com/politics/feature/2000/11/16/flunk/print.html What Gore did was to ask both camps to abandon indefensible positions. In Gore's case, that was the threat of lawsuits against the butterfly ballot, lawsuits that are ultimately groundless; Gore's was a genuine offer in which each side would give something up (unlike the transparently self-serving one made by James Baker), because Gore had no way of knowing if he would emerge victorious after a hand recount and receipt of all absentee ballots. Seen by half the population as a lightweight, and by some significant percentage of people -- fairly or not -- as an unscrupulous lightweight to boot, he would have enhanced his own stature immeasurably. He would have been able to gracefully abandon his ridiculous, self-contradictory, morally and intellectually indefensible opposition to hand recounts -- an opposition that impugns not just the integrity of his opponent, in a way that belies his high-toned claim to be a "uniter, not a divider," but the integrity of the men and women who are counting the ballots. Harris, it is almost inconceivable that any court will simply hand the presidency to Bush because of bureaucratic vote certification deadlines. That would be a recipe for voter outrage unseen since the days of "His Fraudulency" Rutherford B. One can only assume that Bush doesn't really expect, or even want, the election to be over on Saturday. Would he really want to be president knowing that slightly over half the entire voting population will always and irrevocably regard him as a cheat? If the hand recounts are allowed in the end, as they probably will be, it will actually save Bush from this ignominious fate -- win or lose. But it will not erase the stain that his unwise and mean-spirited refusal of a fair and generous offer will leave on his legacy. History gave Bush a chance to rise above what many people expected of him, to show himself a true statesman, not just a calculating political hack. It is no cause for rejoicing on anyone's part that on this occasion he was not equal to the task. The classic book of photos from the exhibition "The Family of Man" deals with birth, death, love, children, work, music and other universal human themes. Toward the end of the book, there are a few pages on the theme of democracy. Above four small black-and-white photographs of people voting in various countries appear the words "Behold this and always love it! It is bigger and stronger than either of these imperfect men, bigger and stronger than the dismaying situation we currently find ourselves in. Bush will not be numbered among those who revered it when it mattered most -- when it counted. Sound Off Send us a 11 Letter to the Editor Related stories 12 Let's make a deal It's time for the Gore and Bush camps to do the right thing. |
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