The 2000 Presidential Election morphed into the most contentious contest in over a century. Texas Governor George W. Bush promised to restore dignity to the White House following eight scandal plagued years. Meanwhile, Vice President Al Gore ran a populist campaign and appeared confused. After the initial voting was complete, the two men essentially tied and the election came down to Florida. The real conflict began as both sides sent operatives to the Sunshine State. Bush won Florida, but the Democrats refused to surrender and attempted to control the recount. After several questionable recounts, the Supreme Court stepped in and ended the fiasco.
Al Gore was in a quandary. He did not know whether to use Bill Clinton to help his campaign or run and hide from the president. Clinton was popular amongst Democrats and was seen as the savior of the party. On the other hand, Republicans and independents viewed him as a self indulgent man child. After easily defeating Bill Bradley for the Democratic nomination, Gore decided to turn his back on his president.
George W. Bush had problems of his own. He had the pesky Senator John McCain to deal with. After a bitter campaign that left wounds that still exist today, Bush beat "The Straight Talk Express." Bush campaigned as a "Compassionate Conservative." The moniker was designed to draw a contrast between himself and the Newt Gingrich wing of the party. The term reinforced his conservative credentials and reform message. Bush also promised to restore dignity to the White House.
Bush's dignity based campaign put Gore on the defensive The vice president ran from Monica's messy dress to avoid looking more like the vice perpetrator. To change the terms of debate, Gore decided to make a hard left turn and ran a populist campaign. Gore trumpeted his support for the people and not the powerful. This line of attack was an indictment of not only Bush, but Clinton's big money connections as well. Both campaigns were taking swipes at Clinton.
While taking shots at Clinton, each man made interesting choices for Vice President. Gore chose moderate Senator Joe Lieberman from Connecticut. Lieberman was well respected and liked by both sides. However, the only man in Washington more boring than Lieberman was Gore. On the Republican side, Bush selected the then-well respected Dick Cheney. Cheney served as the Defense Secretary under President George H.W. Bush and had years of Washington experience. Lieberman balanced Gore's liberalism while Cheney balanced Bush's lack of foreign policy and Washington experience.
The two Vice Presidential candidates performed well on the stump and during the debates. Meanwhile, the Presidential debates opened a gash Gore could not patch up. During the first debate, he sighed impatiently whenever Governor Bush spoke. During another debate, Gore wore so much make-up, he looked like a drag queen. Additionally, Gore continually made gaffes on the campaign trail. At one point, he told a reporter that he "took the initiative and created the internet."
Gore's populist message combined with his debate performances and occasional delusional gaffe cost the election, but it was close. Bush held a 5 point lead going into the final weekend when word of a seventies era DUI came out. The Democrats released information about the incident and Bush's lead evaporated. On election day, Bush won 30 states, but Gore won the popular vote by a hair. Had Gore run a better campaign, he could have won a triumph similar to George H.W. Bush's in 1988. The vice president even lost his home state and President Clinton's home state. Had Gore unleashed President Clinton, he might have won Arkansas and the election. Instead, the election was a draw that came down to Florida.
On election night, the media declared Florida for Gore and then retracted when they discovered the panhandle was still voting. Then, they declared for Bush and Gore conceded. However, the media retracted the call for Bush and decided to declare Florida too close to call. At this point, Gore changed his mind and un-conceded. This led to the recount.
After the recount of Democratic counties, Bush won. The Democrats did not like the result and wanted another recount. At this point, Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris tried to certify for Bush, but the case ended up in court. The Florida Supreme Court ignored election law, threw out the certification, and ordered another recount. Bush continually won the recounts in Democratic precincts.
For some reason, the recounts only occurred in Democratic precincts and not all of Florida. Gore continued to whittle away at Bush's lead. Statistically speaking, Gore should not have made it close. Recounts almost always benefit the vote leader which explains the Gore camp's choice of precincts. Additionally, Cuban districts and military ballots were disqualified or ignored by the recount while the case made its way through the court system. Eventually, the Bush Campaign wanted to end the charade and appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. In a 5-4 decision, the court ordered an end to the recount. Bush won again and Gore conceded again.
The Democrats could not win in 2000. The Florida Legislature was going to send results for Bush to the US Congress. If Gore managed to win the recount, the US Congress would have had two sets of returns. The Republicans controlled the House of Representatives and would have certified for Bush. The only reason for the Democrats to contest Florida and demand recounts in Democratic only areas was to injure Bush before he assumed office in the hopes of creating a lame duck. They failed and Bush served eight tumultuous years. Much of the tumult was a direct result of the Gore Campaign's Florida strategy. In 1960, John Kennedy won under suspicious conditions, but Richard Nixon conceded for the country's benefit. Al Gore should have done the same. Had he done so, the Bush Era might not have been as divisive.
The 2000 Presidential Election ended in the Supreme Court. President Bush won the election in the electoral college and in the courts. Vice President Gore ruined his chances for election with his far left campaign rhetoric, debate blunders, and gaffes. The election fell to Florida where the Democrats attempted to control the recounts. They failed and Bush became president.
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