Jewish World Review Nov. 30, 2000 / 3 Kislev, 5761
Thomas Sowell
Shameless lies
http://www.jewishworldreview.com -- FLORIDA has now given us the most famous dimples since Shirley Temple and the most famous long count since Tunney and Dempsey. Meanwhile, the Gore camp has given us the most shameless lies since Bill Clinton.
Lie number one is that there are "uncounted votes" out there, which should be counted because "every vote should count." Not only have all the votes been counted, partisan guesses about ballots by officials in heavily Democratic counties have also been counted as if they were votes -- and Gore still lost. This guesswork was imposed by the Florida Supreme Court, which substituted its discretion for the discretion which the written law gives to the Florida Secretary of State.
Sometimes courts step in because there has been an abuse of discretion by some official. But Secretary of State Katherine Harris did nothing more than decline to extend the deadline imposed by law. What does discretion mean if you cannot even decline to provide an exception to the written law?
Had Katherine Harris imposed some additional requirement of her own, that might have been a possible abuse of discretion, but everything that her raucous critics are objecting to consists of her declining to provide exceptions -- first, to the deadline established by state election laws and then to the new deadline established by the Florida Supreme Court.
Every national election, as well as many state and local elections, produces many ballots that cannot be counted for any number of reasons. Sometimes the voter has voted for two candidates for the same office and sometimes the voter has failed to vote for any candidate for a particular office.
What is unique about the Florida election is that these very common situations have been hyped in the media as "uncounted votes" and hand recounts have been launched -- but only in heavily Democratic counties -- thanks to lawsuits and spin by the Gore propaganda machine, as well as judicial activism by courts ignoring the law to impose their own idea of how elections should be run.
This process has generated its own additional lies. One is that counting "dimples" as votes has been common in other states. An Illinois case cited by Gore's lawyer David Boies, who got an attorney in that case to make a sworn statement backing him up, turned out to say exactly the opposite of what was claimed. "Dimples" were shot down by an Illinois judge, whose decision was upheld by an appellate court.
Keep that in mind the next time Boies comes on TV talking about wanting "accuracy."
What are called "dimples" are simply dents in a ballot which was never perforated. A "dimple" remains firmly attached to the ballot card by all four corners. This is what they want to count as "votes" in heavily Democratic counties selected by Gore and his lawyers, while only perforations count as votes in the rest of the state.
Another big lie which the truth has not yet caught up with in most of the media is that military ballots had to be disqualified because they lacked postmarks. Here again, the Gore lawyers have engaged in spin. The directive that went out to attorneys for Democrats across the state of Florida told them to object to military ballots without postmarks before the envelope was opened.
Why before the envelope was opened? Because the law allows military ballots without postmarks to be counted if they contain a signed and dated statement within the envelope. But if gullible or compliant election officials tossed military ballots aside unopened, in response to legal challenges, then these very real votes would not count, while guesses elsewhere would.
The most disgraceful -- indeed, corrupt -- action of the Gore camp has been trying to get Republican members of the electoral college to vote for Gore, even though their constituencies elected them to vote for Bush. What makes this truly sinister is the "quiet intelligence-gathering" about these electors reported in the November 16th Wall Street Journal.
In other words, Democratic operatives have been out digging up dirt on these Republican electors' past before trying to "persuade" them to change their vote. This is blackmail.
Yet this outrage -- which could prevent hundreds of thousands of real votes from counting -- has received far less attention in the media than Katherine Harris' makeup, which media pundits have been reduced to attacking. Shameless is the only word for it.
JWR contributor Thomas Sowell, a fellow at the Hoover Institution, is author of several books, including his latest, A Personal Odyssey.
Florida Legislature Moves Toward Special Session
.c The Associated Press
Al Gore battled in two supreme courts -- one state, one federal -- today as he waged an overtime struggle for Florida's all-important electoral votes. George W. Bush was meeting with retired Gen. Colin Powell as he worked conspicuously on a transition to power.
Meanwhile, a committee of the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature called today for lawmakers to meet in special session ''as soon as practicable'' to consider appointment of electors in the state's contested presidential election.
The vote came over the objections of Democrats, who said there should be no interference in the election controversy. Al Gore's running mate, Sen. Joseph Lieberman, said the move was ''just wrong and sets a terrible precedent'' for legislative meddling in future presidential elections.
''It threatens to put us into a constitutional crisis, which we are not in now by any stretch of the imagination,'' Lieberman said, accusing the Legislature of trying to make an ''end run'' around the election.
One of the oddest episodes of the 2000 election campaign played out along Florida's highways as a rental truck, in convoy with police cars, ferried nearly a half-million ballots from Palm Beach County to the state capital in case they're needed for a recount. ''The ballots seem to be riding fine back there,'' Tony Enos, the truck's driver said during a midmorning break at a rest stop.
A second convoy is to set out Friday from Miami-Dade County, also bound for Tallahassee on the order of Circuit Judge N. Sanders Sauls, who is presiding over Gore's legal challenge of Bush's certified victory in Florida.
Sauls has not yet agreed to Gore's request for an immediate manual recount of roughly 14,000 ballots, and the vice president's lawyers sought intervention by the state Supreme Court to order him to do so.
''There is no reason to delay counting ballots even one day,'' they said in court papers filed in early morning. If there is not enough time to finish the counting before Dec. 12, the day states must choose their electors, the brief said, ''the resulting controversy about the legitimacy of the presidency would be destructive for our country.''
Texas Gov. Bush was at his ranch in West Texas, behaving for all the world like a president-elect.
He invited running mate Dick Cheney and retired Gen. Powell to join him for the day, a gesture that served as a reminder that Powell was his apparent choice for secretary of state. Reports surfaced of other potential appointments in a Bush administration.
Sen. John Breaux, D-La., said he had been approached by Bush supporters about the possibility of serving in the Republican's administration, perhaps as secretary of energy. The story was first reported by the New Orleans Times-Picayune.
Breaux wouldn't rule out taking such a job, but said in an interview he was ''not really'' interested. ''I'm happy being in the Senate,'' Breaux said. ''I think I'd be more involved in the Senate with a 50-50 tie, no matter who is president.''
Breaux's remarks underscored the dilemma facing the next president - whoever he is - when it comes time to fill out an administration.
With the Senate likely tied at 50-50, and Republicans holding a slender majority in the House, Republican and Democratic congressional leaders alike are likely to frown on any departures, particularly by lawmakers whose seats could switch parties.
Breaux is a Democrat, but his state's governor is a Republican who could appoint a GOP replacement if the Senate seat became vacant. Also, several GOP House members whose names have surfaced for a Bush administration are from districts that Democrats would have a chance of winning if they were vacant.
Gore, too, spent part of his day working on a transition, although his chances of winning the White House hinged on his lawyers' ability to win first in court. The vice president's aides fretted about public patience running out in an election unlike any other, and Gore himself said on Wednesday it was possible the controversy could linger until the Electoral College meets on Dec. 18.
The outcome of Gore's legal challenge likely will settle the race for the White House, since the winner of Florida will be assured of an electoral college majority. Republican Secretary of State Katherine Harris certified Bush the winner on Sunday night, on the basis of a 537-vote lead statewide.
Gore's lawsuit, filed Monday, seeks to overturn that result and declare him the victor.
At the heart of the vice president's legal claim are thousands of questionable ballots in Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties that Democrats say have not yet been counted, and were not included in the manual recount totals submitted to Harris last weekend.
Republicans counter the votes have been counted, but the counting machines didn't find they contained a valid for president.
In a round of evening news interviews on Wednesday, Gore pressed his claim over and over.
''They haven't been counted. It's just like the supermarket checkout line, where that scanner misses some of the items and the clerk has to go back and write it in by hand,'' he said. ''They look at it, see what it says and write it in. We trust the people to make up for the mistakes in the machines.''
AP-NY-11-30-00 1205EST
Ballots Trucked to Florida Court
By KARIN MEADOWS
.c The Associated Press
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (Nov. 30) - Stuck in traffic. Like a metaphor for the stuck-in-limbo presidential race, a truckload of disputed presidential ballots slowed to a crawl Thursday almost immediately after beginning its journey north.
''The ballots seem to be riding fine back there,'' driver Tony Enos reported during a lunchtime break at a highway rest stop not far from Disney World that only added to the spectacle.
A caravan of police vehicles escorted the yellow Ryder truck on its 450-mile trek toward a Tallahassee courtroom, where a county judge will decide whether the ballots' punch-holes, dimples and chads should be counted yet again.
In a scene reminiscent of O.J. Simpson's watched-around-the world Bronco trip along California freeways, news helicopters hovering overhead to record aerial shots of the convoy. Spectators took pictures from overpasses, one couple holding up a Bush-Cheney sign. As the caravan passed the midpoint of its journey around noon, draped over one Orlando-area overpass was a handmade sign declaring it a ''No chad zone.''
''Oh my God. The whole world is watching!'' declared Lt. Jim Kersey, driving the lead car.
The 462,000 ballots began their odyssey in the morning rush hour of heavily Democratic West Palm Beach, then sped north on the Ronald Reagan Turnpike toward Florida's largely Republican panhandle.
Even the lunch stop at a highway rest stop was duly recorded, the driver pausing to give a few interviews as he bought some orange juice.
''It's going good - keeping two hands on the wheel,'' reported Enos, the county's voting systems coordinator. Along with the ballots, Enos' cargo included three voting machines. He was to testify at the court hearing on Saturday.
Jay Baranzano, 57, of Jupiter, was headed to Orlando on business when he stopped at the rest stop and the convoy pulled in. He had his photo snapped with the truck.
''I thought I would get my picture taken by the historic Ryder truck,'' Baranzano said.
Nancy Johnson, driving to her daughter's house in Georgia, said she'd been following the caravan most of the morning from her home in Palm Beach County.
''It was distracting a little bit but I thought 'What safer way to drive up the turnpike than behind a bunch of police cars?''' she said.
Supervisor of Elections Theresa LePore hugged Enos just before the convoy began its journey. Asked if he was nervous, Enos replied: ''Should I be? I guess every time you get on the turnpike, it's a danger.''
Law enforcement vehicles protected the truck's front and rear on its journey. No one could say whether the ballots inside would help settle the question of whether Vice President Al Gore and Texas Gov. George W. Bush will be the next president.
The trip to Tallahassee was the result of a request by the Gore campaign, which wants more ballots included in the vote count.
Leon County Judge N. Sanders Sauls is to consider whether Palm Beach County's canvassing board used the correct standards in counting the ballots, including whether so-called dimpled chad should be counted as votes.
Republicans on Wednesday questioned whether chad still intact on the ballots could withstand the bumps and curves of the highway, saying the trip would further compromise the integrity of the ballots.
AP-NY-11-30-00 1226EST
Or is it Al Gore?
Stocks Hammered by Tech Earnings Worries
Gateway, Altera Plunge
By Denise Duclaux
Reuters
NEW YORK (Nov. 30) - Stocks were mired in red ink in late afternoon trading on Thursday after warnings of sluggish sales from high-tech powerhouses sent Wall Street crumbling to fresh year lows.
Personal computer giant Gateway Inc. and specialty chip maker Altera Corp. said their fourth-quarter results would fall shy of estimates and sent already skittish investors heading for the exits.
The news solidified the market's fears -- that a slowing U.S. economy would pressure corporate earnings, smacking the Nasdaq down for fourth straight sessions this week.
''People are adjusting to lower revenues and equities expectations for 2001,'' said Donald Berdine, chief investment officer at PNC Advisors. ''But there is no one to buy them on the other side. Why should you get in front of this freight train?''
The Gateway warning dampened hopes that the American consumer would come through with a holiday spending spree, and many investors are finally beginning to give up all hope of solid fourth-quarter corporate earnings.
The technology-rich Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 129.97 points, or 4.8 percent, to 2,576.96, after diving almost 7 percent to its session low of 2,523, a level not seen since August 1999.
The technology sell-off benefited consumer products and drug stocks as investors sought companies with more stable earnings in a more sluggish economic environment.
But that wasn't enough to offset weighty losses in some of the Dow Jones industrial average's tech components, which dragged the blue-chip gauge down 260.50 points, or 2.45 percent, to 10,368.61. The index had lost more than 3 percent earlier in the session.
The broader Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 35.17 points, or 2.62 percent, to 1,306.76.
Among the Dow's biggest losers were software giant Microsoft Corp., down $7 at $58-1/16; the world's No. 1 chip maker Intel Corp., off $4-7/8 at $37-7/8, and the world's largest computer maker International Business Machines Corp., down $6-3/16 at $93-5/8.
Gateway, which blamed its woes on disappointing Thanksgiving weekend PC sales, was among the most heavily traded stocks on the New York Stock Exchange, down almost 40 percent or $11.53 at $17.97.
Wall Street brokerage houses Salomon Smith Barney and J.P. Morgan added to Gateway's misery when they cut their investment ratings on the company's stock.
Gateway's woes infected other PC makers like Apple Computer Inc., which fell $1-5/16 to $16-1/4, and Dell Computer Corp., off $2-3/4 at $19-1/16.
The American Stock Exchange's computer hardware index sank nearly 13 percent.
Semiconductor makers, like Intel, fell in the wake of Altera's announcement that its fourth-quarter revenues and earnings would be flat because of sluggish November sales and an unanticipated backlog of its products. Altera fell $1-7/8, or about 7 percent, to $24-1/16, after falling earlier the day to a year low of $19-5/8.
Drug stocks helped to nudge the American Stock Exchange's drug index up 0.08 percent after it cruised to an all-time high of 455.28.
Pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. shot to an all-time high of $96-5/8 before retreating to $93-15/16, down 15/16. Diversified healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson was up $1-7/8 at $102-1/8.
Reut14:57 11-30-00
Bush Meets Colin Powell at Ranch
By TOM RAUM
.c The Associated Press
CRAWFORD, Texas (AP) - Gov. George W. Bush conferred Thursday with Colin Powell, his all-but-certain choice for secretary of state, and said he was ``getting our team in place'' to assume power despite Al Gore's continuing court challenge.
``We're open for business,'' the Texas governor told reporters, although he planned no formal Cabinet appointments until some of the legal obstacles can be cleared away.
Powell, the retired chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Bush's GOP running mate Dick Cheney flew to Texas for the meeting. Bush welcomed them at his ranch north of Austin.
Powell was asked if he had been asked by Bush to serve.
``I have not yet been asked and if that question should be posed to me I think I should answer it directly to the governor at that time before answering it to anyone else,'' he replied.
Bush said he had invited the retired general to ``talk about the transition, particularly national security matters and foreign policy matters.''
Asked by reporters about the continuing dispute over the election, he said, ``I won three counts and I think it's time to get some finality to the process.'' He added, ``When the counting finally stops we want to be prepared to lead this nation.''
Bush noted that his transition office was opening in suburban Virginia, since the Clinton administration has not yet turned over the keys to federal office space set aside a few blocks from the White House.
When the election is finally settled, he said, ``Dick Cheney and I will be the president and vice president.''
The Bush camp is working to prepare a government while delegating its lawyers to deal with rival Al Gore's court challenges of results of the decisive presidential vote in Florida.
While Cheney insisted no Cabinet announcements will be made this week, the popular Powell long has been known to be Bush's first choice for secretary of state. Bush aides did nothing to dispute long-standing reports that Powell would be among the first Cabinet appointments Bush announces.
``We both have great confidence in his judgment and his ability,'' said Cheney, secretary of defense during the Persian Gulf War in the administration of Bush's father. Powell was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the time.
The meeting is part of the Bush team's strategy of trying to project an air of inevitability about a Bush presidency and to increase pressure on Gore to abandon his challenge.
Gore has refused to concede and is contesting Bush's certification by a 537-vote margin in pivotal Florida.
Cheney said the visit by the retired general would permit ``an extended discussion of the transition.''
If he survives the Gore legal challenges, Bush also was expected to name Stanford University scholar Condoleezza Rice as his national security adviser. She was the chief expert on the Soviet Union on President Bush's National Security Council.
Barring a reversal in the courts, Bush was expected to begin announcing members of a prospective Bush administration next week, starting with a national-security team.
He has been considering Democrats for his Cabinet, his aides said, in an effort to try to heal political wounds of an achingly close election.
But one Democrat who had been eyed as a possible secretary of defense - former Sen. Sam Nunn of Georgia - appeared to remove himself from consideration.
``While I am honored to have my name mentioned for a Cabinet position, I am not interested in going back into government at this juncture in my life,'' Nunn, former chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said Wednesday in a statement.
Gov. Jim Hunt of North Carolina, a Democrat speculated as a possible choice for education secretary, also indicated he was not interested in a job in a Bush Cabinet.
Meanwhile, Sen. John Breaux, D-La., said he had been contacted by Bush supporters about the possibility of serving in the Republican's administration, perhaps as secretary of the Department of Energy. The story was first reported by the New Orleans Times-Picayune.
Breaux wouldn't completely rule out taking such a job, but said in an interview he is ``not really'' interested.
``I'm happy being in the Senate,'' Breaux said. ``I think I'd be more involved in the Senate with a 50-50 tie, no matter who is president.''
Breaux's departure from the Senate could lead to Louisiana's GOP Gov. Mike Foster appointing a Republican to replace him, changing the Senate's likely 50-50 party split to a 51-49 GOP majority. Breaux declined to discuss that possibility, saying: ``It's not a reality.''
Trying to set the stage for bipartisan cooperation in Congress, Bush and his high command were making calls to Republican leaders and indirectly reaching out to Democrats.
``As soon as the dust settles, he wants to sit down with the Republican leadership in the House. He also wants to meet with the Democratic leadership,'' said House Majority Leader Dick Armey, R-Texas.
Bush spokesman Ari Fleischer said Bush will wait a while before calling Democrats directly, noting that most Democrats currently are lined up in support of Gore's challenges.
However, Fleischer said Bush did try to telephone Rep. Gene Taylor, D-Miss., but had been unable to reach him because he was out of the country.
Taylor has pledged to vote for Bush should the election be tossed to the House, suggesting it would reflect the views of his constituents. Bush carried Mississippi and Taylor's district in the Nov. 7 election.
Meanwhile, the Bush camp opened a transition office Wednesday in the Washington suburb of McLean, Va.
The office is being financed by private contributions because the Bush campaign was denied federal office space and $5.3 million earmarked for the presidential transition. The General Services Administration refused to release the space and the money because legal challenges by Bush and Gore remain unresolved.
The Bush campaign plans to raise $3.5 million in contributions of no more than $5,000 to pay for the transition.
AP-NY-11-30-00 1345EST