By Munir K. Nasser
Chief Correspondent, Washington, DC
Albawaba.com
The extraordinary battle for the White House continued Wednesday with a full recount in Florida to determine whether Texas Governor George W. Bush, or Vice President Al Gore becomes the next US president.
Florida State officials said a recount could be completed by late Thursday, but absentee ballots mailed from overseas have 10 days to arrive. They must have been postmarked by Tuesday to be valid. About 1,000 Florida voters live in Israel, and many can be expected to have supported the Democratic ticket by absentee ballots.
Gore had called Bush early in the day to concede the election. But in a move unprecedented in US history, he later called back to retract his acceptance of defeat since returns showed Florida votes too close to call.
Analysts believe that if Bush wins Florida and therefore the election, as his campaign predicts, it will mark the first time since 1888 that a candidate won the popular vote but not the all-important Electoral College vote. Gore was ahead in the nationwide popular tally by well over 200,000 votes Wednesday morning, a lead that no recount appears capable of overturning.
Bush, predicting he will be declared the victor in Florida and win the presidency, asked James Baker, who was secretary of state during his father's administration, to oversee the Florida recount on his behalf. The Gore campaign said former Secretary of State Warren Christopher would oversee the recount for Democrats.
Gore addressed reporters in Nashville. He called the election aftermath an "extraordinary moment for our democracy" and reminded supporters that although he appears to have won the popular national vote, the next president will properly be chosen by the Electoral College. "The Constitution must be followed faithfully," he said. He urged that the matter be "resolved expeditiously but deliberately and without any rush to judgment."
Lawyers and advisers for the two nominees raced to Florida to investigate two potentially crucial situations. In one, Democrats claim that more than 3,000 Gore votes in Palm Beach County may have been mistakenly recorded as votes for third-party candidate Patrick Buchanan because of oversized ballots whose lines were skewed. Florida law requires an automatic recount if the margin of difference is less than one-half of one percent, as this one clearly is.
Should Bush prevail, some Democrats doubtlessly will point a finger of blame at Green Party nominee Ralph Nader. Nader, who drew more support from Gore than from Bush, won enough votes in Florida, Oregon and New Hampshire to prevent the vice president from winning those states with clear margins.
Nader failed, however, in his goal of capturing 5 percent of the nationwide vote, which would have entitled his Green Party to federal campaign funds in 2004.
Nader was unapologetic in a news conference on Wednesday, when he blamed Gore for not winning a landslide victory against Bush. He said the Democratic Party must face the facts that it has abandoned its progressive roots.
Republicans Still Control the House
Republicans maintained their control of the House of Representatives after turning back a fierce challenge from the Democrats and secured control of the chamber for their fourth consecutive term.
But Democrats appear to have narrowed the Republican slim seven-seat majority, by at least one seat and possibly three, depending on the results in two contests that were too close to call, one near Lansing, Michigan, and the other in central New Jersey.
Moreover, several other tight races may eventually change after recounts and absentee ballots are tallied, which means the exact composition of the House that convenes in January may not be known for several weeks.
But both parties scored victories Tuesday. Republicans picked up at least six seats previously held by Democrats, knocking off a Democratic incumbent in Connecticut and winning seats left vacant by Democrats in Virginia, New York, Pennsylvania, Missouri and West Virginia.
That offset Democratic gains in Arkansas, New York, Oklahoma, Utah and Washington. Democrats enjoyed their greatest success in California, where they knocked off three incumbents, including former House impeachment manager James E. Rogan in perhaps the most watched race of the year.
Evenly Split Senate Still Possible
Republicans retained narrow control of the Senate in Tuesday’s voting, with 50 seats and Democrats with 49, and the race for the state of Washington is still too close to call.
Even if Democrats secure a 50th seat, which would divide the Senate evenly for the first time since the 1880s, they would fall a vote short of controlling the chamber.
If the Republicans ultimately win the presidential race, Richard Cheney, as vice president and the Senate's presiding officer, would break any tie votes and keep his party in control. If Democrats capture the White House, Joseph I. Lieberman would have to relinquish his Senate seat in Connecticut to take office as vice president, almost certainly leaving his seat to a Republican appointed by the state's Republican governor.
Even if Republicans retain their majority outright, it would be the closest Senate division since Democrats controlled the chamber by one vote in the late 1950s.
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
