Recount (2008) - full transcript

Those are absolutely meaningless.

I mean, who's looking at the polls?

I haven't read a poll
in at least 15 minutes.

I'm telling you,
it's looking good,

but we've got to keep
hammering at the undecideds.

Between phone calls I'm praying.

We need to satellite lieberman
to nevada and arizona.

We can have it set up by 11:00
if we can talk him into it.

- He's walking in right now.
- Hold on.

Fournier is waiting
for you on line two.

Yeah, fournier,
what can I do for you?



Looks like voter
turnout's gonna be

at an all-time low.
Any response?

Well, as I keep saying
and I'll continue to say,

the foundation of a democracy is
based on its citizens' right to vote.

A.b.c. On three... Winning
electoral, losing popular.

Hang on a sec. Yes. Hi,
ron. A number of the polls show

that gore will lose the popular
vote, but win the electoral college.

What would the gore
response be if this occurred?

Well, the gore response
would be that governor bush

is gonna have to respect the electoral
process no matter what the outcome.

Fournier, the foundation
of our democracy

is based upon the citizens'
right to vote.

It is our duty as americans
to fulfill that responsibility.

C.n.n. On one... The same.



Hang on. Yes.

Looks like you're gonna
lose the popular vote...

Yeah, I know the question.
Here's the answer...

Governor bush is gonna have
to respect the electoral process

no matter what the outcome.
Fournier...

"it is our duty as americans
to fulfill that responsibility

because we must never forget
that every vote counts."

You're the only liaison I know
that actually sounds sincere

when you spew that shit.

- Background?
- Yeah, go ahead.

Are you going to join
the new administration?

I guess that would depend
on the position he offers,

but I don't think he's
going to offer me anything.

He's barely spoken to me
since I got back to campaign.

- But if he does?
- No comment.

Talk to you later.

Ron klain's office.

I have a lester hyman on two.

Hey lester, what can I do
for you this morning?

If the 32nd precinct opens
even one minute late,

I swear to god, I will fly down
there personally with a crowbar

and open
the goddamn door myself.

Whouley?

Ron, you look
like a fuckin' bolshevik.

Thanks. Listen, I just got off
the phone with lester hyman.

We may have a problem
in palm beach county.

A bunch of older voters think
they accidentally voted

for pat buchanan by mistake...
And not just a few of 'em, a lot.

Jeremy... Where is it again?

- Palm beach.
- Palm beach county.

Get me what's-her-name, theresa
lepore on the phone, please.

We wouldn't be having this problem
if you were still running this show.

- Yeah, well...
- But since you're not,

how about gettin' me
a coffee and fuckin' danish?

- But before I do that...
- Yes?

Are we going to win this thing?

No.

Yes, but it's gonna be
a squeaker.

You always said it would
come down to florida.

Yes, I did.

Jeremy, theresa lepore.

- It's busy. I'm trying.
- Well, try harder, please.

- Thanks, man.
- No problem.

- Hey, morehouse.
- Hey, ron.

What happened to your leg?

Twisted my knee
getting off air force two.

Did they upgrade you or
are you still flying in luggage?

- Put some ice on it.
- Yeah.

Hey, ron.

Hold on a sec.

Ron klain.

I'm sorry about this.

Hey, no worries.

Thanks.

That's good.

- Complete this part right here.
- Yes, sir.

Okay? Good.

I'll get it to the vice
president right away.

Okay, look, ron,

I don't want to bullshit you,
so let me get right to it.

Roy neel is putting out feelers

for the transition team

and he told me al really
wants you on board.

The vice president wants
to offer you the lead

in reviewing candidates
for jobs beneath the cabinet.

Bill, that's the same job
I had eight years ago.

I know it's not ideal,

but al really wants you
to do this.

And I don't think he's going to
understand why you wouldn't.

Well, maybe it has something
to do with the fact that he

didn't exactly back me when coelho
pushed me out of the campaign.

Come on, ron, we all know
know coelho was a big mistake.

That's why he's gone
and you're back.

Right, working under the
people that used to work for me.

Everyone appreciates
you coming back.

It's the first thing I did when
I took over this campaign.

And I did it because I hate what
happened to you. It was bullshit.

But this is a good opportunity

for you to get back
on the inside.

Tell the vice president
I have been delighted

to write press releases
for the last three months

and work on rapid
response, but I will not be able

to accept his eight-year
demotion at the current time.

Ron, would...

Would you think about it?

I'll keep you up to date
on exit polls.

The vice president and his wife

voted this morning at forks
river elementary in elmwood.

- Chris called earlier.
- Mm-hmm?

He said if gore wins,
you can have the week off.

If he loses, he wants you in
the office by noon tomorrow.

Yeah, well, they don't call

warren christopher the
great negotiator for nothing.

So I take it

you're not gonna be joining
the gore administration.

Yes, I understand
what you're saying to me,

but I haven't heard
anything about that.

The governor promised
to go to california,

and that's why the governor
went to california.

And he always keeps
his promises. Absolutely.

So I'm finally
in the governor's mansion,

and it is pretty imposing.

Now we're all seated at dinner

and everybody bows
their heads for prayer.

And I am sitting there thinking

"what's a nice jewish boy
from pennsylvania

doing here praying with
the governor of texas?"

And the governor leans over

and he whispers in my ear,

"it's about time we got
some methodist blood in you."

And I got relaxed
very very quickly.

It was a lovely lovely moment.

Are we gonna win, mr. Ginsberg?

By tomorrow morning

the stains of bill clinton

will be washed away

and honor and dignity

will finally be restored
to the white house.

Hey, ben,

did you hear about
palm beach county?

Revote! The ballot is unfair!

It should be clearer
where you're punching.

I understand.
I want to talk to somebody.

Revote!

Hmm.

Is this what
all the fuss is about?

Judge burton, I've had
three friends call me in a panic

because they think they
voted for pat buchanan.

They're very upset.

Theresa, why did you
list the candidates

on both sides of the ballot?

The font that I had to use

to get all the candidates
on one side was very small

and I was worried

that the older voters would
have trouble reading them.

We're going to need a lawyer.

The presidential race is
crackling like a hickory fire here.

This promises to be
one of the closest races

in american
presidential history.

The big prize, the brass ring
for this evening...

The state of florida.

A big call to make...
Cnn announces

that we call florida
in the al gore column.

Al gore wins
the state of florida.

Florida was supposed to be
george w bush country.

And you can bet
that governor bush

will be madder
than a rained-on rooster

that his brother the governor
wasn't able to carry this state for him.

Stand by. Stand by.

What the networks giveth,
the networks taketh away.

Nbc news is now taking florida

out of vice president gore's
column.

Oh, waiter,
one order of crow, please.

Call the doctor, call
the police, call a psychic.

In florida, it's tightened up.

All eyes on florida
at this hour.

This is the answer...
Florida florida florida.

What the heck is
going on in florida?

Whoever wins florida
won this election.

I apologize. We're going
to make a projection now.

Abc news is now going to project

that florida goes to Mr. Bush.

Bush wins. Florida goes bush.

The presidency is bush.

That's it. Sip it, savor it...

unless there is
a terrible calamity...

cup it, photostat it,
underline it in red...

george w bush by our
projection is going to be...

press it in a book, put it in
an album, hang it on a wall...

The 43rd president...
The 43rd president...

the 43rd president
of the united states.

At 18 minutes past 2:00
eastern time,

cnn declares
that george walker bush

has won florida's
25 electoral votes

and this should put him
over the top.

Ladies and gentlemen, listen up!

Al gore has just
called the governor

and conceded!

You did a great job.
All of you, great job.

Area clear. Cars are ready.

Okay, they're here.

Vice president leaving
the building.

- Are you okay?
- Yeah.

We've learned that
the vice president

is on his way to deliver
his concession speech

at the war memorial plaza

here in nashville.
The large crowd...

can't say enough about
the race george bush ran...

but let no person say

that al gore did not pour
himself into this campaign...

- ron klain.
- It's fournier.

I've got no comment
at this time, ron.

Why did gore concede?

Hang on a second.

Why did gore concede?

Because we lost
the election, ron.

Jeremy, get me nick baldick.

Hurry up.

Ron, the associated press

has very different numbers
than the networks.

What are you talking about?
The networks have all called it.

Gore conceded. He's on his
way to the plaza right now...

Listen, all I'm saying is the oldest
news organization in the country

has not yet called
this election.

We still believe
florida's too close to call.

I don't understand what
the hell you guys are doing.

- What is it?
- I'll call you back, ron.

You have reached bill daley.
Please leave a message.

Damn it.

Yeah, ron klain.

Ron, I think the networks
have the wrong numbers.

It's gonna sound insane...
I just got off with baldick...

A machine in volusia went crazy.

Get this... it actually added
3,000 votes to bush's total

and subtracted thousands
of votes from gore.

It went backwards.
Gore's count right now

is negative 16,000
in that county.

So what are the real numbers?

When you recalculate
the entire state,

we're down by less than 15,000.

So it's a machine recount.

- We're still alive.
- Wait, no.

Gore conceded to bush.
He's on his way to the plaza.

You're fuckin'
kiddin' me, right?

Didn't you see the news?
The networks all called it.

Jesus. Hang on.

Guys, what's happening?
What's going on?

Cnn is told by two senior
gore campaign officials

that the vice president placed a
phone call to the texas governor.

The vice president
is now in his motorcade

due here in downtown
nashville in just a few minutes

to deliver remarks
to the supporters...

Jesus christ. Get me bill daley.

No no, I can't get him. I've
been trying. I can't reach anybody.

What the hell is going on here?

Wait, daley... You can reach him
through the white house signal office.

- Try that.
- Yeah yeah.

No word from
the gore campaign yet.

We've tried making
a few phone calls...

fuck.

- You've reached donna brazile...
- Damn it.

- Try lehane, he might be there already.
- Good idea.

No, he's not in this book.

The networks got it wrong
twice in the same night?

We're going
to a machine recount.

We need to get to him
before he goes onstage.

Whatever happens, we
cannot let him make that speech.

- Who's gonna grab him?
- Morehouse.

We'll intercept at the car.

Get me david morehouse.

We will hear from the vice president,
we're told, in about 15 minutes.

Morehouse here.

- Gore didn't lose.
- You gotta stop him at the car.

Vice president al gore's
motorcade has arrived.

Mr. Gore will likely make
a very brief statement.

We want gore! We want gore!

No no no, mr. Vice president,

mr. Vice president.

Sir, Mr. Vice president.

Whoa whoa whoa. Hold
on a second. Hold it, pal.

We know the vice president
is backstage.

We've been trying to reach
more of his senior aides

to find out reasons
for the delay.

We've been unsuccessful
in doing so...

my people aren't seeing the
same numbers as the networks.

Neither is karl.

We want gore! We want gore!

Mr. Vice president.

Mr. Vice president.

Sir, sir.

- Sir, it's urgent.
- What is it, david?

Daley needs to speak to you.
He just needs five minutes.

I just spoke to bush.
He's waiting for me

to give this speech. I'm not
going to keep him waiting.

Please please please,
mr. Vice president,

there's a problem with
the numbers in florida.

The popular vote that looks
like one of the closest...

governor, al gore is
on the phone.

Let me make sure I understand.

You are calling back
to retract your concession?

Excuse me, but you don't
have to get snippy about it.

My little brother has assured
me I won the state of florida.

Well, your little brother is not
the ultimate authority on this.

Mr. Vice president, you
do what you have to do.

Yes!

The vice president
has recalled the governor

and retracted his concession.

This thing will be over
in 24, 48 hours tops.

- Honey...
- Yeah?

Be careful down there.
They have alligators.

I'll see you friday.

The vice president
has called governor bush

and retracted his concession.

What are these people yelling?
Let's listen, turn our sound up here.

Recount! Recount!

"Recount."
They are saying, "recount."

Secretary of state
katherine harris speaking.

What the hell is
going on, katherine?

What are the final numbers?

This is the secretary
of state katherine harris.

You'll have to call clay
roberts, director of...

Katherine, it's jeb!
What are the final numbers?

Who won florida?

There she is! Secretary harris.

We'll have a statement later.

Bush received

2,909,135 votes.

Gore received

2,907,351 votes.

What's the difference, clay?

Oh, sorry.

Bush takes florida
by 1,784 votes.

Or .03%.

Any difference
of less than .5 of 1%

triggers a mandatory
machine recount.

Thank you, clay.

We will now proceed

to a mandatory machine recount.

All that was needed was 30,000

to trigger an automatic recount.

We're only behind by 1,784.

They're going
to run every ballot

through the counting
machines again.

The machines are not precise.

You'll get a slightly
different total

every time you run them through.

It's even possible we might
pull ahead by tomorrow morning.

But if bush maintains his lead,

I'm sure they're gonna
want to move it fast

and katherine harris
is gonna try to certify

a bush victory
right at the deadline,

- which is in six days.
- Of course she will,

she's co-chair of his
florida campaign.

She would have certified a
month ago if she could have.

Anybody here ever heard
of a "chad"?

One by one, each of florida's
67 counties

run their ballots through the
counting machines a second time.

This process is overseen by a
three-person canvassing board...

made up of county
and local officials.

- All final tallies must be submitted...
- Yeah, what is it, joe?

Are you watching?
Daley's on channel 6.

Mr. Daley, what makes you think

the results of the recount

will be any different
than they are now?

Well, at this point
nobody really knows, matt,

whether it will be
different or not.

His daddy stole it for j.f.k.,

and now he's gonna
steal it for gore.

I've asked warren christopher,
the former secretary of state,

to come in and oversee
the recount for us...

- okay, they got warren christopher.
- Secretary of state

warren christopher will
lead a gore legal team...

who were we thinking?

Oh, it's gonna
be a litigation nightmare.

Every lawyer
from new york to havana

is gonna be waving their briefcases
up and down on the streets of florida.

I'm tellin' ya,

they're gonna be
fallin' out of the sky.

- Can you get back to the airport?
- I can be there in an hour.

Hundreds of voters are lined up
in palm beach county today

to sign affidavits stating that
they were confused by the ballot.

A petition is being circulated
demanding a revote.

These voters believed
they mistakenly voted

- for pat buchanan...
- I want my vote to count.

We're gonna do everything
we can to make sure

your votes get counted.
That's why we're here.

I feel like I'm stuck

in "the night
of the living bubbies."

- Just stay calm.
- And whatever you do,

- don't yell "bingo!"
- yeah, I promise.

Hey, buchanan's on tv.
I'll call you back.

I think and believe.
And it is my belief

that some of those votes
that were cast for me

probably were cast
for me mistakenly

in the belief that people were
casting their ballots for al gore.

Glen, new talking point...

Buchanan just went on
television. Even he says he thinks

people voted for him thinking
they were voting for gore.

Write it up. Get it
to me as an email.

Reverend jesse jackson
led a march of democrats

and unhappy voters
through west palm beach.

At this point we do not know

who won the election

because our votes
have not been counted.

Right.

It's insane.

Now all eyes on florida
watching this recount.

A team of as many as 70 people

expected in the state
within the next 24 hours,

we should note,
many of them raising questions

as to whether the gore campaign
will try to sway...

the undervotes and the
overvotes on a precinct level and...

Uh, good afternoon,
mr. Secretary.

This is everyone...
Five lawyers and joe allbaugh?

Tell austin I want
operatives, p.r. And volunteers

- down here immediately.
- Got it.

They have jesse jackson
down there in palm beach

holding hands with
those old jewish folks

screaming,
"count all the votes!"

Who the hell is gonna
argue with that?

I'm guessing that
Mr. Jackson is going to

keep his "hymietown"
comments down to a minimum

this time around.

I want our protestors
down there in palm beach,

tallahassee and miami...
Call roger stone...

Ft. Lauderdale, tampa.

Karl wants protestors
outside of gore's home.

There you go.
Now listen, people,

this is a street fight for the
presidency of the united states.

I'm told they have
a well-oiled operation

just waitin' to clobber us.

It ain't gonna get
more political than this.

We want to proceed

as if this is
a proper legal process,

not a political street fight.

Gore wants to pull jesse
jackson out of florida

as quickly as possible. When
I spoke to the vice president

he said he wanted to fight
this with every possible...

There is concern that
protestors might diminish

what should be
an orderly process.

If a fight broke out and, let's
say, the police overreacted...

Even worse, a riot...
No one wants that.

Chaos will not help our cause.

Okay, I'll ask donna
to talk to jesse jackson.

Our attorneys at holland & knight... I
thought we had negotiated their fee.

We had, but they suddenly
discovered a conflict of interest.

- Mitch?
- It's pretty simple.

Jeb bush doles out a lot
of business in this state.

His chief counsel has made
clear the consequences

of taking us on as a client.

So there is not one
major law firm in florida

that will represent al gore.

This is already a mess.

Our first step
should be exploring

this butterfly ballot situation.

The ballot was designed
by a democrat and approved

by the democrats in palm
beach before election day.

They don't have
a leg to stand on.

I went through a ballot
configuration dispute

on the connie mack recount...

There are no legal remedies.

The constitution says
presidential elections

must be held on a single day
throughout the nation.

There isn't a court in the state

that would be crazy enough
to grant them a revote.

Looks like chris won't be able

to negotiate his way
out of this one.

I'm sure jim will want
to negotiate a fair method

- to settle this affair.
- Some palm beach groups

have already filed lawsuits.
I think we should join them.

No, we don't want
to go to court.

But if we're pursuing this
as a legal process

and not a political fight,
as chris said,

then we're gonna
have to file lawsuits.

Gore doesn't want to send
the message that he's suing

- to be president of the united states.
- Absolutely no lawsuits.

I want to file a lawsuit
in federal court

as quickly as possible.

It'd get thrown out immediately.

You bet,

but I want us on track
for the u.s. Supreme court.

I don't think
they'd even hear it.

And we'd get crucified
by our own people

for pushing a state issue
into federal court.

Well, that's right,

but as some of you may know,

I love to cull turkeys
in the spring,

as did lawton chiles, the former
governor of the great state of florida,

though I contend
I was the better shot.

Now there's no love lost
between chiles and the bush family

ever since that dirty campaign
he fought against jebbie in '94,

but I always liked lawton

and every year
before he passed on

we would have ourselves
a pleasant time

culling turkeys in the spring.

Could I have another
soda, please? Right away, sir.

Now as two-time governor,

chiles appointed
six of the seven justices

on the florida supreme court.

And I can tell you positively

they are the most
flaming liberals

in the entire goddamn state.

If we end up in the florida
supreme court, we're dead.

Now the u.s. Supreme court
may be a long shot,

but florida is a no shot.

Now we can sit here drinking tea

and discussing the virtues
of federalism

or we can start
throwing punches.

And yes, we'll take a hit
in the op-eds,

but until this is over
I don't want to see

a copy of "the new york times"
unless it's to wrap garbage.

Johnny apple says that we
have a week to resolve this

before the american people
will lose their patience.

I think we need
to heed his advice.

I think we need to discuss
hand recounts.

If we're trailing at the end
of the machine recount,

we're gonna have to request
a full statewide hand recount.

You guys are dreaming. It's
not gonna happen, not in florida.

- Why not?
- 'Cause their election laws

are completely ass backwards.

There's no mechanism to ask
for a statewide recount.

You have to go to each
individual county.

That's 67 separate hearings.

Jesus, bill,
it's recount theory 101...

If you're behind, you demand
recounts, as many ballots as possible.

Okay, all right,
say by some sort of miracle

we get all the counties
to agree.

- How long do you think it will take?
- Two to four weeks.

The certification deadline
is in six days.

Look, if at the end
of a machine recount

we're trailing by 4,000 votes,
then we all should pack our bags,

but at the moment
we're only down by 1,800.

After winning the national
popular vote by 500,000.

Iawton chiles doesn't run
this state anymore, ron.

They control everything.
The governor's his brother.

Katherine harris is co-chair of the
bush florida campaign, for christ's sake.

The entire legislature
is republican.

What about
some partial recounts,

just a couple of counties?

A couple of counties
is not gonna work.

Wait a minute.
Palm beach and volusia

were the main source of
problems on election day.

We'd be justified in asking for
recounts in those two counties.

All three members of the palm
beach canvassing board are democrats.

They'll probably agree
to a hand recount.

We've got to start
punching, chris.

The bush brothers are not
gonna be so interested

in a dignified process.

That may be true,

but the world is watching.

We are theoretically
its last great democracy.

If we cannot resolve this

in a way that is worthy
of the office we seek,

what kind of hope
do we give other countries

that wish to share our values?

Jesus.

"last great democracy"?

- Come on, don't start.
- You gotta fuckin' be kiddin' me.

Look, I love warren christopher,

but I think the guy's so tight
he probably eats his m&ms

with a knife and a fork. Listen,
there's a giant scoreboard out there.

We can't play a gentleman's
game or we're gonna fuckin' lose.

Whoever has the ball when the clock
runs out is gonna be declared the winner.

Gore wants to win
as much as you do.

He just doesn't want to set
the constitution on fire to do it.

Right now we're down
by less than 2,000 votes.

Meanwhile, there's 175,000
ballots out there

that the counting machines
have declared non-votes.

So that's 175,000
uncounted ballots.

How does a thing
like that even happen?

Because punch-card ballots are
fucked, okay? They're primitive.

You got cardboard chad
that get punched but don't go

all the way through the holes
so they're hanging off the ballot.

- Hanging chads?
- Chad.

- What?
- There's no "s."

The plural of chad is chad?

- "The last great democracy."
- Jesus.

So when you take these ballots

and put them through
the tabulating system,

what happens is the hanging chad

get pushed back into the
holes. And the machines read it

as if the holes were
never actually punched

so then these are discarded
as "undervotes."

But wait, sometimes
hanging chad don't even hang,

- they're just dimpled.
- Dimpled?

Yes, which means that the voter

didn't align the ballot
properly in the machine

or just didn't push hard enough
to get the chad to go through.

How hard is it
to punch a paper ballot?

It's pretty goddamn hard when
you're 80-something years old,

you're arthritic and blind
as a fucking bat.

Unfortunately for us, blind fucking
bats tend to vote democratic.

Not to mention the fact
that the votomatics

sometimes don't get cleaned
out for years and years.

So they can get completely
jammed up with chads...

- "chad."
- And the next...

Sorry.

The next thing you know
it's impossible for the voter

to actually penetrate it at all.

So you just end up
with dimpled chad.

This tends to happen in poorer
neighborhoods where they don't have

up-to-date, brand-new
voting equipment.

And I don't have to tell
you who those people,

generally speaking,
vote for, okay?

All I'm saying, ron,
is we have to have

actual live human beings
doing this recount.

What about chris and daley?
They don't want a hand recount.

You know what? I get it.
I get it, okay? I do.

When this is over, you can go
back to warren christopher's law firm.

- Hey...
- Listen.

But right now fuck it...
You gotta get these guys

to agree to get a hand recount.

Listen, everybody feels
the same way

about what happened to you
with the campaign, okay?

But gore went with coelho
because he knew tony was a fighter.

And tony proved it
when he pushed you out.

All right? Now it's time
to prove to al gore

who the real ron
fucking klain really is.

It's time to show al gore that
ron klain is a fucking brawler

and that's he not gonna back
down from this particular fucking fight.

Anyone ever tell you
you say "fuck" a lot?

Six counties have been
reviewed so far.

The total for governor bush...

2,909,153.

That's an increase
of 18 votes for him.

Yes, I'm looking at your final
tallies here, and apparently

you did not actually run the
ballots through the machine again.

We have our own standards
for a machine recount here.

That may be, but you are
supposed to put the ballots

through the machine
a second time.

Hello, it's clay roberts here.

I'm sorry I had
to call you back.

Things are very busy,
as you might imagine.

Hi, Mr. Roberts.

Yes, you must put the ballots

through the machine
a second time.

Otherwise, you technically
did not conduct a recount.

We rechecked the memory cards,

and as far as I'm concerned,
that's all we're required to do.

I sent out guidelines

for a machine recount
procedure several months ago...

Mr. Roberts, we're just going
to retabulate the memory cards.

Thank you for calling.

The world is watching us, jim.

This is a tremendous opportunity

to show how a nation
of our power

can resolve a conflict
as great as this

through diplomacy
and compromise.

Compromise?

I thought we were here
to discuss scheduling.

Well, yes,

but it was my feeling

that we should be able to agree

on a method to settle
this matter.

There's nothing to settle.

If we're ahead at the completion
of this machine recount

our position is this... Governor
bush has won the election;

Katherine harris
will certify the election.

No negotiations,
no compromises, no extensions.

Bush is president. I go home.

End of story.

It's always great
to see you, jim.

And you, chris.

- That's it?
- For the present.

- You've got to be kidding.
- What did you think was gonna happen?

A bit of a fight.

It is brass-knuckle time, chris.
It's time to take off the gloves

and I know gore feels
exactly the same way.

He says it in every conference
call. He wants to fight.

We may be ill-equipped to fight.

We're working
out of a strip mall.

And I'm worried
about his future.

He's a young man.
He can run again,

but not if he destroys his career
with a prolonged legal battle.

But the fight is here,
chris, it's now.

Look, berger's moving us
into his law firm tomorrow.

Whouley's setting up
a base in ft. Lauderdale,

and we've still got five
more days before the 14th.

I agree that there is
a battle to be had,

but we must also remember
there is no shame

in placing country above party.

Chris, you've been
a mentor to me

and I will forever be
grateful to you for that,

but I...

I can't do it like this.

We may well have won
this election, chris.

And we owe it to this
country to find out the truth.

- Guys, whoa.
- What?

The numbers are in on the
machine recount. You gotta see this.

All the counties in florida

have now finished
their initial recount,

and according to
the associated press's numbers,

george w bush
leads al gore in that state

by 327 votes.

Holy shit!

All right, mr. Klain, all right.

We'll fight to count
the two counties.

I want four.

We agreed on two.

I want to add broward
and miami-dade.

They're chock-full
of democratic undervotes.

We won't be able to finish before
Miss harris's certification deadline.

It's physically impossible
for all four counties

to finish a hand recount
in five days.

If we get ahead of bush, it
will change the entire game.

She'll have to
extend the deadline.

But we've got
to get ahead first.

We need to start
placing pressure on her.

There's no logical reason for
her not to extend the deadline

until all the votes
have been counted.

The democrats in florida,
with the presidency at stake,

are asking for
a so-called hand count

in four democratic counties.

How in the world
can a cheap politician

say, "I know this guy
intended to vote for gore

even though he didn't
punch through the ballot"?

But bob, first of all,
this process is

specifically authorized
by florida election law.

Maybe we should ask
for recounts too,

but from republican-leaning
counties

- to offset any gains they make.
- Hell no.

Why do we need a recount?
We already won.

And they gave up all their moral
high ground when they only requested

recounts in the four most
liberal counties in the state.

Al gore isn't interested
in counting all the votes.

He's only interested
in counting al gore votes.

Al gore is not interested

in counting all the votes.

He's only interested
in counting al gore votes.

That's why he's
cherry-picking votes

from the four most liberal
counties in the state.

Now the votes have been
counted and recounted

and in every case
george bush is the winner.

Hand recounts are chaotic.

They're unreliable

and they lead to mischief.

That's why we've
moved on to machines.

Katherine?

Katherine, there's a problem.

18 of the 67 counties

didn't actually run their ballots
through the machines again.

They mostly did some sort of
retabulation of the memory cards.

That means that a million and a
half ballots weren't actually recounted.

I think we need to be
very quiet about this...

Is somebody in my office?

It's clay.

You never know where life
is going to lead you, clay.

I was just thinking,
10 years ago

I was teaching the
chicken dance to seniors.

And now I've been thrust

into an electoral tempest

of historical dimensions.

And the eyes of the world
have landed on me.

The law states

that I cannot accept returns

after the certification deadline

unless... This is important...

There is some sort
of natural disaster

which prevents counties

from turning in results on time,

such as a hurricane.

Secretary harris,
secretary harris...

my understanding is that the
law gives you the discretion

to accept late returns
for any reason,

that it's up to you.

The law says there has
to be a hurricane.

Does her makeup
count as a hurricane?

No, thank you for your question.

We've all been
a little confused,

glued to our tvs as well

and worried about the results
some people have been giving.

Sorry. Um, but no,

there will be
absolutely no communication

with either campaign.

I've instructed my staff

to place a firewall
around my office.

This woman is hopeless.

We're gonna need
some help on this.

Vincis, vincit...

vincimus,

vincitis,

vincunt.

Again. Vinco, vincis...

come on now, you know
I don't like calls

- when I'm in my class.
- I'm just curious, mac,

are you gonna sit around
and parse latin verbs all day

or are you gonna
get into this fight?

Quo me vis?

What the hell does that mean?

It means,
"where do you want me?"

Pink sugar.

Sorry.

Sorry, mac.

Listen, katherine,

most people
go through their lives

never having a chance
to make a difference.

And those lucky enough
to have that chance

don't recognize it
when it comes.

They think it's down the road,

or that it's going
to be next year

or the year after that.

But if you're a public official
wanting to make history,

then today is
your lucky day, darlin'.

You're about to pick the
leader of the free world.

Don't you worry, mac.

It's going to take a lot
more than david letterman

making fun of my hair and
makeup to knock me down.

That is exactly why
I backed your campaign

when everyone else
ran over to mortham...

Because you are
a woman of action.

A woman of action,

- like queen esther.
- Queen esther?

I have been reading my bible

quite a bit here lately,

and I have been feeling

this unusually strong kinship

with queen esther.
You recall queen esther...

She was willing
to sacrifice herself

to save the lovely
jewish people.

And that's exactly
what I'm doing right now.

And if I perish, I perish.

You have to stay strong,
katherine.

The world needs to see

that katherine harris
is in charge.

You need to bring this
election in for a landing.

Yeah.

Bring it in for a landing?

Bring it in for a landing with
george w. Bush in the cockpit.

They're going to ask
for extensions,

for negotiations, for recounts.

We don't have to let
that happen, katherine.

Under the law,

when is a hand recount allowed

and when would it be denied?

It says, "hand recounts
are allowed

if there is an error
in vote tabulation

which could affect

the outcome of an election."

- It's vague.
- No, it's really vague.

The key then is interpreting

what "error in vote
tabulation" means, right?

If there are ballots
that the machine

did not count
for whatever reason,

then that would be an
"error in vote tabulation."

Just the existence
of uncounted ballots

justifies a hand recount, right?

Our position has got to be
that "error in vote tabulation"

means how the systems
tabulated them.

So the only way
a hand recount can proceed

is if the hardware or
the software broke down.

If there is no systems error,

then they cannot conduct
a hand recount.

Listen, kerey, the election
statutes are confusing.

We need you to go down
to palm beach county

and offer them some guidance.

We have very little authority

over the canvassing boards...

unless they request
an advisory opinion.

Sure thing, clay.

Live from palm beach.

With three days left
till the certification deadline

palm beach county
will hand-recount

1% of their votes. And based
on the results of this 1% recount,

the canvassing board
will then decide

if they are to hand-recount the
remaining 99% of their ballots.

That's exactly the reason
that we need to do this.

Can we please count the
votes that we have in the boxes?

Excuse me.

- Judge burton?
- Yes, can I help you?

Hi, I'm kerey carpenter,
division of elections.

Oh, thank god.

This is a nightmare.

We're under a microscope here.

The laws are vague and
they contradict each other...

Dimple, no dimples,
sunshine standard.

I know. The division's position

is that dimpled chads
should not be counted.

Ultimately, though, it's the
canvassing board's decision.

You just need to remember
that whatever you decide,

you're going to have to
testify about it someday.

Listen, we can't
offer help unsolicited,

and you'll have to resolve
the dimple issue on your own,

but the state can offer clear
guidance on almost everything else.

- Really?
- Yeah.

All you have to do is ask us
for an advisory opinion.

"Dear judge burton,
this is in response

to your request
for an advisory opinion.

A 'vote tabulation error'
is an error

in which the vote tabulation
system fails.

Since no such error
has occurred,

county canvassing boards
are not authorized

to hand-recount their ballots.

Sincerely yours,
I. Clayton roberts,

"director of elections."

- What are chris and daley thinking?
- Daley's gone back to d.c.

we're getting pressure from
our own people to concede.

He's going to the hill and shove
all the democrats back in line.

That's not gonna make
any difference if we don't deal

- with this advisory opinion.
- Wait a minute,

why don't we get our own
damn advisory opinion?

"Dear judge burton,

since the division of elections'
advisory opinion

is so clearly at variance

with the existing florida law,

"I am issuing
this advisory opinion..."

The palm beach canvassing board

is listening to arguments
from both parties

on how to proceed with two
conflicting advisory opinions.

The ballots punched
for both gore and buchanan

counted in the 1% recount show

that the butterfly ballot
cost al gore

a minimum of 6,000 votes!

Under these circumstances,
we feel palm beach county

must proceed
with the hand recount.

I represent the people
of palm beach county,

and I believe that
hand-recounting our ballots

is the only way to find
out who won this election.

Yes!

The secretary of state
has told you

that you cannot hold
a hand recount.

It would be illegal for you to
disobey her advisory opinion.

What happens? Do we go to jail?

Because I am willing
to go to jail.

All right, we'll have a vote.

All those in favor
of suspending the recount

until we have received
further clarification?

- Aye.
- Aye.

All those opposed
to suspending the recount?

Nay.

All right, the motion
carries, two to one.

The canvassing board has voted

to suspend the recount.
They've gotten an opinion

from the director of elections...
The secretary of state.

Her opinion is that because
there is no error

in vote tabulating system...

There's nothing wrong
with the equipment...

This "tabulation systems"
they've come up with

is complete bullshit, chris.

It is... Thank you.

It has never been
interpreted this way

in the history of florida law.
They made it up two days ago.

If we don't take
katherine harris to court

right now,
it's killing us, chris.

We've got to get this count
up and running again.

I'm afraid I have some bad news.

Chris is going back
to los angeles?

His daughter is sick. I
don't blame him for bailing.

This whole thing is rather
hopeless. And with daley gone

it means there isn't a
senior gore campaign official

in the entire state
of florida right now.

Bob dole beat bill clinton
in 1996.

- Jeb bush...
- Honey, you gotta turn on

"saturday night live."
It's on right now.

Took himself out of the
florida recount process noting,

"look, I already threw out
19,000 ballots,

hassled black voters
and confused the old jews.

My work here is done."

That's good.

Honey, if you want to leave,
no one would blame you.

No, monica, I'm not going
anywhere, and you know why?

Because I think
gore won this thing,

and I think he thinks so
too. He's like a changed guy.

He's got this fire in him now.

It's like before
the campaign even started.

He's even started
calling me back.

- I'll have to call you back, honey.
- Okay.

What the hell are you
doing in tallahassee?

Early hanukkah gift.

- Good morning, team.
- Good morning.

I want to read you
something very interesting

from another state's
election code,

courtesy of Mr. Whouley.

"A hand recount
shall be conducted

in preference
to a machine recount."

It also says that dimpled chads

should be included
in any hand recount.

It's great, ron, but we can't use
another state's election code.

I know we can't, but
what if that state is texas

and it was signed into law

by its current governor,
george w. Bush?

- Yes!
- All right, pass those out.

This is talking point
number one.

Point two... Donna
brazile is down in d.c.

following up on allegations
of black-voter suppression.

Jeremy is gonna hit the
streets here on that same issue.

And point three... As you can see,
we've got some new lawyers in town.

I'd like to introduce
my former colleague

at the justice department,
jeff robinson... jeff.

Thanks, ron. It's great
to be on the team.

I've started with the difference

between optiscan
and punchcard ballots.

The punchcard failure rate
is double that of optiscans.

And of course minority
neighborhoods get stuck

- with the punchcards.
- I am shocked.

And, everyone,
this is mark herron,

a florida election law
specialist.

He's going to write a memo
detailing exact standards

by which absentee ballots can
be counted. It's my gut feeling

that some of these were sent
after election day.

- And maybe more than just a few.
- I think so too.

Oh, and you should also
know that mark's law firm

has fired him for
coming on board with us.

- On his birthday.
- Aww.

Another piece of decent news...

Volusia county ignored
katherine harris's advisory opinion

and they are almost
completed with their recount.

We should pick up
about 100 votes there.

The bad news is
that madam secretary

is insisting on her deadline...

Unless, of course,
there is a hurricane.

Which means that
it's gonna be impossible

for the counties to complete
their recounts in time.

So our strategy is twofold:

One... we continue to insist
that hand recounts are legal;

And two... we argue that
regardless of any deadline

every votes has a right
to be counted.

Where do we argue? On c.n.n.?

Volusia county is going
to sue katherine harris

to accept their late returns

and we are going
to join that lawsuit.

I thought gore was
against lawsuits.

Well, I spoke to the vice
president and he says

since bush is dragging
our ass into federal court,

we can drag his ass
into state court.

And this is volusia
county, everything about it.

Get busy, boys and girls.

I gotta call
"the new york times."

Thank you.

Looks like warren christopher

just joined the lawsuit
to extend the deadline.

Christopher went back to I.a.

ron klain is running
tallahassee now.

Who's ron klain?

Gore's former chief of staff.

Former?

Can someone please
explain this to me?

I don't care
what judge burton says.

If he doesn't count dimpled chads,
we're gonna take him to court...

baker on line one.

I gotta call you back.

What can I do for you,
mr. Baker?

I'm sorry to bother you, mr. Klain,
but I was surprised to hear

you joined
volusia county's lawsuit.

Well, I figured
that was the easiest way

to get your autograph, sir.

Unfortunately, Mr. Klain, I shall
not be attending the hearing.

That is a shame, sir,
because I was going to put you

right between my sandy
koufax and my spiro agnew.

I was sad to hear
that secretary daley

and secretary christopher
left tallahassee.

Will you be leaving too?

No, sir, I'll be here until the
vice president fires me again.

Well, then I should tell you

you're probably gonna
lose tomorrow.

That's certainly
one of two possibilities.

All right, Mr. Klain.

I just wanted to say hello.

Well, you call back
anytime, Mr. Baker.

He's gloating. He thinks
we're gonna lose tomorrow.

Well, I think we're gonna
lose tomorrow.

We are gonna lose tomorrow.

All right, so who's the best
appellate lawyer in this country?

And if you're just
joining us, to recap

the major news of the day...
A florida judge, terry lewis,

coming out about
an hour and a half ago

and through a statement
read by a spokesperson saying...

Ay!

That the state of florida
does not have to accept

those manual hand recounts
currently taking place

in broward and palm beach county

and in other counties
that might be...

David, ron klain's
on the phone for you.

Ay!

And if she believes it's the
best thing for the state of florida...

Hi, ron, to what do I owe
this pleasure?

This is not a final setback, but a big
blow for the democrats and al gore.

- Mr. Boies...
- Yes, ma'am.

Now that the deadline is here
and the absentee ballots

have pushed bush's lead
to around 900 votes,

is gore going to change
his strategy?

The strategy is the same.

Al gore is just trying
to get votes counted.

The very fact that
katherine harris wasn't willing

to accept ballots counted
after the deadline,

even though all the absentee
ballots hadn't arrived yet

makes it crystal clear that she's
trying to do everything she can

to stop new votes
from being counted.

What do you think?

He's tough.

You have to be tougher.

David boies can destroy a
witness and make you think

he's a great guy
while he's doing it.

His 20-hour bill gates
deposition is already legendary.

I heard he never uses notes.

He's dyslexic, so he has
to memorize everything.

Let me be clear...

Judge lewis's decision isn't

the triumphant victory for katherine
harris that her people are claiming.

She stated that she
can't accept ballots

counted after the deadline
unless there was a hurricane

and judge lewis said
that this was incorrect,

that regardless of the
weather, the law clearly states

that she can accept
late ballots,

that it's her decision.

And if she wants to reject
legally counted votes,

she has to come up with
an actual reason for doing so.

Shouldn't I just
ignore judge lewis

- and certify tonight?
- No, katherine.

This deadline is in a few hours.

Katherine,
this is a court order.

- You must obey it.
- He's right, katherine.

The judge said you have
to come up with a reason

to reject late ballots, so we
have to come up with a reason...

You know, something that shows

you didn't just
reject them arbitrarily.

Why don't I just ask
the counties to tell me

why I should give them
more time?

Shit, katherine, that's good.

We just ask 'em.

Yeah, I like it.

In accordance with
judge terry lewis's ruling,

I have sent a letter
to the counties

asking them to explain

why I should allow ballots
counted after the deadline

to be included
in the final tallies.

The counties
must respond in writing

by 2:00 tomorrow.

On the advice of legal counsel,

I won't be answering
any questions.

You need to tell us
what's going on.

We need to know the truth.

Has been made fun of
on "saturday night live,"

a lot of ridicule... "time" magazine
referred to her as cruella de vil...

after careful consideration,

I am denying
the counties' requests

to include ballots
counted after the deadline.

The final tallies
will be certified

tomorrow evening.

On the advice
of our legal counsel,

I won't be answering
any questions.

Well, that's not surprising.

So do we try to get
the florida supreme court

to stop her from certifying?

I don't think
they'll grant us a stay.

The florida supreme court
just issued a stay

- to stop the certification.
- Are you kidding me?

- What?
- No, I'm not. And get this...

Al gore didn't even ask for one.

The florida supreme just went
on ahead and gave it to him.

All right, people, listen
up. We got ourselves

a fired chief of staff, a lawyer
who can't read his notes

and seven florida justices to
face, who I may have mentioned...

I'm not sure if I did...
Are all liberal democrats.

I think it's time
for our supporters

to exercise their
first amendment rights.

Yee-haw!

If gore does not receive
the ruling...

katherine harris claims
that ballots counted

after the deadline
cannot be included...

gore-inch, make sure you hold

that sign up high. Exactly.

Gore-nac, this is your bit.

Hold that up to your head
and say, "I call this vote..."

I call this vote for gore!

Gore is a crybaby.

Waah! I want a recount!

Peter jennings and tom
brokaw have bald spots!

Peter jennings and tom brokaw
have bald spots!

The gore campaign says

further legal actions
are still on the table,

but officials privately concede

an adverse ruling
from the state supreme court

would deal a fatal blow
to the gore campaign.

At the completion
of the machine recount,

the difference between
the two candidates

was 327 votes.
Under florida law,

the trailing candidate
in a race this close

is entitled
to request hand recounts

in individual counties.

If they had completed
the recount by the deadline,

there would be no issue.
Unfortunately, they did not.

Therefore the recount
cannot continue.

Who knows how many votes
could've been counted

had katherine harris
not mistakenly claimed

there had to be
an error in the system?

The secretary of state
was just following the law.

We implore the court

to set specific
counting guidelines.

Voters are supposed
to follow instructions

that are inside
each and every voting booth.

They clearly state that the ballot
must be punched through completely.

Dimpled chads must be
included in this standard

because they represent
a voter's intent.

These issues of dimples
and chads are exactly why

we believe hand recounts
are inherently flawed.

Doesn't the current
process in texas,

signed into law by your client,

state that hand recounts
are preferred over machines,

and dimpled chads
should be counted?

I really don't know
what texas law is.

Good evening.

My name is craig waters.

I'm going to read the ruling
that was issued by this court.

The florida supreme court,

in its unanimous opinion,

has reversed
the circuit court ruling.

Whoa. Oh, ron, ron.

- Are you okay?
- I'm so sorry.

- No, we won.
- Yeah, I know, but...

We won!

It doesn't matter. We won.

It does matter. I'm so sorry.

The counties are to
hand-recount their ballots,

and to achieve this goal,
the final totals

must be accepted
by 5:00 p.m., november 26.

- They have five more days.
- They just gave gore the steal sign.

To disenfranchise electors,
as katherine harris proposes,

is unreasonable, unnecessary

and violates long-standing law.

Oh, that is a personal attack.

Is this normal?

To reiterate,

there will be two counters
at each table,

containing one member
of each political party.

Disputed ballots
will be referred

to the canvassing board.

Now one republican and
one democratic representative

will be observing the
counters and will be allowed

to speak to those counters.

Contested ballots
will then be referred

to the canvassing board
for final review.

- There's a small victory here.
- What's that?

They didn't set
counting standards.

We can still fight
dimpled chads.

Dimpled chads is good,
but the real question is

what would happen
if they didn't finish

in five days?

I object to the ballot
on the grounds

it is not in the guidelines
and criteria...

That ballot does not conform
to the 1990 standards.

Bending the ballot
can cause chad

to improperly fall
from the ballot.

- Gimme a break.
- You can't be serious!

Number five, gore.

I object to that vote
on several counts.

Number one, it's not...

Your honor, he is intentionally
trying to slow down the recount.

- Got a five here, definitely a five.
- This ballot

does not have
two corners detached.

This woman is eating the chads.

- That's ridiculous. I object.
- I object to the ballot.

I object. I object.
I object. I object.

A dimpled five. No-vote.

Dimple, number five. No-vote.

That dimple shows
clear intent for gore.

Chads don't indent themselves.
Someone was trying to vote

and miami-dade and broward
are both counting dimpled chads.

Broward changed their standard
in the middle of the recount.

It was biased,
unethical and unfair.

Gentlemen, there will be no
more discussion of the standard.

Palm beach will not be
counting dimpled chads.

What the hell is he doing?

He's literally throwing
people's votes away.

Whouley says this will
cost us around 800 votes.

Look at this idiot.
Wait till you see this.

The hand-counting of the ballots

that is ongoing is becoming
completely untrustworthy.

Ballots have been used as fans.

Ballots have post-it
notes stuck to them.

God damn it!

An elderly counter
dropped 20 to 60 ballots.

You have a 70-year-old man
at 2:00 a.m. In the morning...

how can he say it's fraud? There's
television cameras everywhere.

There's observers
from both parties.

They're working
under a goddamn bell jar.

Any response
to these allegations?

This characterization
of hand recounts

as chaotic and unreliable is an
attempt to discredit and delay the process

so that we'll miss
the new deadline.

They're not counting votes.
They're casting votes.

They're deciding
somebody based on something

meant to vote for someone.

The republicans are the ones
that are creating the chaos,

and they're doing it to prevent
the votes from being counted.

The ballots being
looked at here today

have been counted.
They're been recounted.

And this process
of once again recounting

is prone to human error.
It's prone to mischief...

carol, carol,
you need to see this.

It's all over the internet.

Should we release a denial?

I really don't care if
people think I'm a lesbian.

I just don't want them to think

suzanne is the best I could do.

Awww.

Theresa, are you all right?

- Theresa lepore...
- The election supervisor,

she's had police protection
for the last few days.

And carol roberts has gotten
nearly 30 death threats.

Certainly, the issues here...

no-vote.

Fall squarely on
these three people.

And they are under
tremendous amount of pressure.

No-vote.

- Objection.
- Of course, of course.

No-vote.

Since broward and miami-dade
are counting dimpled chads

and palm beach is not,
we can claim

the recount violates
the equal protection clause

because all ballots
aren't being evaluated

with the same standard.

Rehnquist and scalia
won't go for it.

They've rarely ever ruled for
an equal protection violation.

We'd have to find a victim.

The law is designed
to prevent minorities

from having their
voting rights taken away.

The victims are the people whose
votes were disqualified in one county,

when the exact same vote
would've been counted in another.

I kind of like it.

Maybe scalia and thomas
will discover

their inner liberal.

I'm sorry to interrupt,

but I wasn't sure
if you could smell this.

What is it?

The pile of shit al
gore just stepped in.

He's trying to throw out
military ballots.

It's called the herron memo.

My memo does not target

military votes,
senator lieberman.

It states the exact standards

that all overseas
absentee ballots

must meet in order
to be counted.

These are ballots
without postmarks,

without witness signatures
or dates.

There's no way to tell
if they were sent

after election day. Thus
they shouldn't be counted.

I was told that military ballots

without postmarks are common

because soldiers on tankers
usually can't get postmarks.

That's correct, sir, which
is why the memo also states

if a ballot is signed and dated

on or before election day,

this would count
the same as a postmark.

I'm not pulling this out of thin
air, sir. This is what the law says.

This is the exact same issue
the republicans were

complaining about last week

when they were worried about
absentee ballots from israel.

They held a press conference,
sir, in which they said

if absentee ballots
are not properly postmarked

they should not be counted.
That's their line.

That's our line.
Nothing should change, sir.

All right, I got it.

Thank you very much.

So democratic lawyers
should drop any objections

to overseas ballots from
armed services personnel?

I think the problem here...
My own point of view,

if I was there, I would give
the benefit of the doubt

to ballots coming in
from military personnel...

No!

- God damn it!
- Particularly in light of the letter

and the kind of statements
we've heard about that.

But the problem here is...

Mark, I'm sorry.

I apologize.

I... Apologize to everyone.

It's not your fault, mark.

I-I... if they have the capacity,

I'd urge them to go back
and take another look.

Ron, daley is on line two.

Of course he is.

Yeah.

Gore is going ballistic.
What the hell just happened?

I think joe lieberman just
entered the 2004 primaries.

The wise senator lieberman says

we should take another look
at these military ballots

and I see no reason not
to follow his sage advice.

I want to go back to every
military county in the state

to fight to get
these ballots counted.

I'm talking escambia,
okaloosa, santa rosa, pasco.

They've had what I would call
a break in the ranks, people.

- Let's get on it.
- Yes, sir.

Oh, hell's bells, folks, their
own vice presidential candidate

has stated these ballots
should not be discarded.

I think that speaks
volumes. Don't you?

But this ballot
does not have a postmark

or a witness signature
and no date.

Therefore it's impossible
to prove

that it wasn't sent after election
day and it shouldn't be counted.

Your honor, if a member
of our military gets shot,

that bullet won't have
a postmark on it either.

I'll count it.

Thank you, joe lieberman.

- May I help you?
- Are you Mr. Willie whiting?

I'm pastor whiting.

Pastor whiting.

My name is jeremy bash.
I work for the democratic party.

I understand you were
turned away from the polls

on election day.

Yeah, I was.

Do you have a minute to talk?

What's going on?

This is the official
voter purge list.

- What's that?
- The reason people were

turned away from the polls
on election day.

These people were
scrubbed from the voter rolls

because they were supposed
to be convicted felons.

But there are a ton
of people on this list

that never committed
a crime in their lives.

How does a thing
like that happen?

The secretary of state's office

paid database technologies
$4.3 million

to compile a list
of convicted felons

who according to florida law
would not be allowed to vote.

And then they instructed
d.b.t. To, quote,

"capture more names that
possibly aren't matches."

This is an actual e-mail
from her office.

So the list
is comprised of felons

and anyone whose name
happens to be similar to a felon.

I met willie d. Whiting.
He is a pastor,

but his name is similar
to willie j. Whiting,

so he was told he couldn't vote.

The supervisor in leon county

went through his purge list
person by person.

And of the 697 names
that the state gave him,

he found that only 33
were actual felons.

And the supervisor
in miami-dade, he complained

that his list had
clear mismatches,

but he was told, "look, even
if the names don't match,

go ahead, consider them felons."

Okay, so?

How many people were
illegally disqualified from voting?

20,000 people.

Almost half of them
were african-american.

So can we do anything with this?

You can't get votes back
that were never cast.

All we can do is turn
this over to the n.a.a.c.p.

and hope that they can
stop it in 2002.

Remember elian! Remember elian!

Cuban-americans are
out in force today

to protest against the recount,
still enraged by clinton's decision

to send elian gonzales
back to cuba.

Congressman sweeney,
why are you here in miami?

I'm here because miami-dade
has become ground zero

for producing
a manufactured vote.

Dimpled number six...

Gore.

Dimple six... gore.

Dimple six... Gore.

- I object.
- Duly noted.

We're the new republican party!
We're not gonna take this anymore!

Bush won!

- Bush won twice! Bush won twice!
- Everybody needs a t-shirt.

Let's go, pass them out!

Hello. I just
heard from our guys

in the miami-dade counting room.

The board decided to count undervotes
and they've moved to a backroom.

They're counting in secret.

Well, shut it down.

Number six for gore.

Dimpled six... That's for gore.

We want to have a small protest
up near the canvassing board.

Nobody wants to get arrested.
Nobody's gonna get hurt.

We just want to make our point.

After you've heard enough,
you can tell us to leave.

What do you think's
gonna happen?

Look at us. Look at
the way we're dressed.

Sit in here.

You can't go in.

Hey, hold on. Stay back.

Punched number seven... No-vote.

Punched number seven hole...
No-vote.

I object. It's obvious...

Number five is for bush,
number seven is for gore.

These voters clearly did not
insert their ballots properly.

This is preposterous.

We can't guess who they
intended to vote for

when they punched a blank hole.

Let's get a blank ballot
and try to demonstrate this.

- Go.
- All right.

- Dimpled number four...
- Bush.

Could I have
everybody's attention?

There is a full protest
out in the lobby

and I think it could
escalate out of control.

Let's keep going.

Let us in! Let us in!

Let us in! Cheaters, cheaters!

Hi, I'm a lawyer
with the recount.

I need a sample ballot, please.

Thank you.

He's got a ballot!

No no, it's a sample.

- He stole a ballot!
- This guy...

He's a lawyer for gore
and he's stealing a ballot!

Settle down.
I'm on official business.

I'm a lawyer with the recount.

Just let me by. Let me by.

Stop kicking me!
Stop kicking me!

Get away from me!
Get away from me!

- Don't let him get away. Follow him!
- Stop that man! Leave me alone.

Cheaters! Cheaters!

The colonel and I won't
let you leave with that ballot.

Who the fuck is the colonel?

He's going back!
He has a ballot!

You're in big trouble, pal, all
right? Don't put your hands on me.

I'm gonna defend myself if you
put your hands on me one more time!

It's against the law.
This man's a lawyer

and he shoved and put
his hands on me.

It's voter fraud! Arrest him!

He stole a ballot!

No justice! No peace!

No justice! No peace!

Hold on.

Let us in! Let us in!

We'd better take a break
until this calms down.

That's it.

Voter fraud! Voter fraud!

So we take judge burton to
court, we get the ruling we want,

and he still won't count
dimpled chads. What the hell is...?

Miami-dade just stopped counting.
They're about to hold a hearing.

Miami-dade?
A hearing about what?

This morning I felt

we could count the
undervotes in five days,

but we are in a very
different situation

than we were this morning.

A radically different situation.

I cannot sit here and tell you

that if we begin the process

that we can complete it
by the november 26th deadline.

What the hell is going on?
Why aren't they counting?

Therefore I am going
to have to vote

to abandon
the miami-dade recount.

I object!

This is for the presidency
of the united states!

We have to at least try
to finish this recount.

Mr. Young, I would
like to tell you

that we could get this done in
time, but I don't think we can.

I'm gonna vote we stop counting.

Yes yes!

I am also going to vote to stop.

No no no no. We can do this!

We can get these votes counted!

We have to get these
votes counted!

A gore lawyer ron klain said

that a mob stormed
the counting facility

to stop the count.

That's the myth.
Here are the facts.

The demonstration was

noisy and peaceful
and nothing else.

There were babies in the
crowd. There were little kids there.

There was, in some ways,
a holiday atmosphere.

A holiday atmosphere?
Yeah, like bastille day.

These kids were
congressional aides

flown in on the enron jet.

Mr. Leahy and others said that
they were not intimidated.

You know, I think

I might owe you
an apology for all this.

For what?

Because I'm afraid

you might end up being famous

as the lawyer who lost
al gore the presidency.

Monica's worried
that if we do lose,

I'm never gonna get a job
again in law or in politics.

Me too.

You know what's funny
about all this?

Nope.

I'm not even sure
I like al gore.

Is designed
to heat up the situation

and it really is time
to tune back the rhetoric.

Thank you.

Well, I say

whoever stops fighting first
always loses.

It's absurd.

It's completely absurd. I'm
in the middle of a recount

where the votes
aren't being recounted

and nobody seems to care. Not
a single person seems to care.

You know what I'd like to know?

Who actually won this election?

Who won this fucking
election? Who won it?

Ladies and gentlemen,

unfortunately,
we will not be able

to complete
the palm beach county recount

by today's deadline.

As you know,
the florida supreme court

has issued an opinion

giving us
until 5:00 p.m. Tonight,

assuming that the secretary
of state's office

would be open on a sunday.

Now if they're not,
then we would have

until 9:00 a.m.
Tomorrow morning.

I have just sent a letter
to the division of elections

explaining that we are
exhausting ourselves

trying to get through this.
We are requesting

an extension to that
9:00 a.m. Deadline.

As we know, katherine harris

is interested in getting

the most accurate
results possible,

so we see no reason
why the secretary of state

should not grant our extension.

Thank you.

I think we should
let them have it.

Are you kidding me?!

They're almost finished anyway.

Let them get done.
And then we'll accept

any result by 9:00 a.m.
Tomorrow morning.

God damn it,
you stupid son of bitch,

we're right
on the goal line here.

We are so close, katherine.

Shut it down.

Just shut it down.

It's only a few more hours.

The florida supreme court stated

that if we're open on sunday,

the returns are due at 5:00 p.m.

it's sunday. We're open.

And it's almost 5:00 p.m.

I have no choice
but to follow the law.

Of course, it's your call,

but I think you're
right on the money here.

Ladies and gentlemen,

after counting 460,000 ballots

with approximately
1,000 ballots left to count,

the secretary of state
has decided

to shut us down
with two hours to go.

Apparently, that's how
she has chosen

to exercise her discretion.

Quit it.

Good evening.

On behalf

of the state elections
canvassing commission

and in accordance with the laws

of the state of florida,

I hereby declare

governor george w bush

the winner of florida's

25 electoral votes

for the president
of the united states.

I wish to point out
that our american democracy

has triumphed once again

and this is a victory
in which we can all take

a great deal of pride
and comfort.

The true winner in the election

is the rule of law.

- Nice touch... classy.
- Thank you

and may god bless america.

To candy crowley
in austin, texas

where the bush people
have to be watching this

very closely and very happily.

It may be close,
but the secretary of state

has pronounced them the winner

and they're gonna be
hanging their hat on this.

She wishes it was over.

David boies, the attorney
for the gore campaign,

a few hours ago said
again they will contest

nassau and miami-dade
for certain.

They're also gonna work
on palm beach.

The two briefs
for miami-dade and nassau

expected again to be filed
possibly at 9:00 a.m. Local time

here in tallahassee.
It may slide to 10:00 a.m...

we'd like to contest
the election

for the presidency
of the united states.

Please, god,
let it be nikki clark,

judge nikki clark.

The wheel has given you...

judge sanders sauls.

The court finds

and concludes

the evidence does not establish

any illegality, dishonesty,

improper influence,
coercion or fraud

in the balloting
and counting process.

Do you have any comment
on the verdict?

They won, we lost.
We're going to appeal.

Mr. Baker, reaction, please.

We are grateful

that judge sauls has
upheld the rule of law

by validating
governor bush's victory.

It's time for the vice
president to do the right thing

and end our
national uncertainty.

I think the american people
are about ready to move on.

Perhaps Mr. Gore

might finally be ready too.

I want to fight this thing

as long as we've even
got a glimmer, ron,

but the country is
already so divided.

I wonder when ending this
is the right thing to do.

I believe we end this thing

when all the votes
have been counted

and we know who really won.

Or...

when you can't win

even if you won.

I'm really glad we're
working together again, ron.

Me too, mr. Vice president.

- Me too.
- Good luck in court tomorrow.

Have a good night, sir.
I'll speak to you tomorrow.

Good night.

Today's showdown
in florida's supreme court

is critical,
especially for al gore.

While he trails george
w bush by 930 votes

in florida's official
but uncertified vote tally,

today's decision
may make or break

gore's fight for the presidency.

So someone who lost by
130,000 votes in dade county

would say, "we want a recount,"

and then we would have to have
the court recount all those votes too?

We have pinpointed 215 votes

in palm beach,

168 in miami-dade
through hand recounts,

so we know that if you
look at ballots,

you can find intent
where a machine could not.

Sir, would you like
a bulletproof vest?

No, thank you.

Good afternoon.

My name is craig waters.

The florida supreme court
today has issued its ruling

in the case of albert gore, jr.,

v. Katherine harris.

In the contest brief,

vice president gore requested

that miami-dade complete
its aborted recount

and for palm beach
to recount their ballots

with a standard that
includes dimpled chads.

He also requested the inclusion

of 168 votes from miami-dade,

215 votes from palm beach

and 51 votes from nassau

all counted during
the protest phase,

but not included
in the final certification.

All right, come on,
send me home.

In its four-to-three ruling,

the court rejects gore's request

to recount palm beach county.

The court also
rejects the inclusion

of the 51 votes
from nassau county.

However,

the court does order
the inclusion

of the 215 legal votes

- in palm beach...
- What?

And the 168 legal votes
in miami-dade.

- Yes!
- We're down 154 votes!

The court also orders
an immediate hand recount

of the 9,000

uncounted undervotes
in miami-dade.

They can't do this.

In addition, the court orders

a hand recount of all
uncounted undervotes

in the entire state of florida.

Fantastic.

- Unbelievable. Unbelievable.
- We did it, bob.

The recount is
to proceed immediately

and must be completed
by december 12th.

December 12th... three days.
We have three days!

We can do it. Three more days.

Ron, they're going
to count the whole state.

Thanks to you.

Obviously what happens here
is the vice president

lives to fight another day. But
he's got several more big fights...

get me gore.

As many as 58 counties
are going back

to the ballot boxes recounting
so-called undervotes

by order of the state
supreme court.

More than 40,000 ballots
are in play.

The leon county judge charged
with organizing the effort

has set a target deadline
of 2:00 p.m. Eastern, sunday,

for the recount to be complete.

The illinois senate
democrat dick durbin,

reacting to the florida supreme
court's victory for al gore, quote...

"two strikes, two outs
in the bottom of the ninth,

"and gore gets a hit" unquote.

We know that spokesman
craig waters

at one point in his statement...

I want to request
an immediate stay

in the u.s. Supreme court
to stop the recount.

We have to prove
"irreparable harm."

On what grounds would
the counting of votes

cause irreparable harm to bush?

Well, how about the fact

that the florida supremes
just gave al gore

a statewide recount, and
he didn't even ask for one?

They're not even trying
to appear to be fair.

That's true, but it doesn't
prove irreparable harm.

Wait a minute,

did you look at
justice wells's dissent?

I have a deep
and abiding concern

that the prolonging
of the judicial process

propels this state
and this country

into an unprecedented
and unnecessary

constitutional crisis.

If this election is not
resolved by december 12th,

a very interesting
scenario arises.

According to the
electoral count act of 1887,

if an election is not
resolved by december 12th,

then state legislators
can decide

who to award their state's
electoral votes to.

Wait a minute,
the florida legislature

could award its 25
electoral votes to bush,

no matter what the results
of the recount?

My people have talked to
several constitutional scholars

and they all agree it would be a
legal interpretation of the constitution.

We're calling it
the "nuclear bomb" option.

If this election is not resolved

by the safe-harbor deadline
of december 12th,

then it is the legislators'
duty to ensure

that florida's 25 electoral
votes are not placed in jeopardy.

- Mr. Speaker!
- Yes.

Any validity to allegations

you're coordinating your efforts
with bush lawyers?

I have not had any contact
with any member

of the bush team
probably since...

in a good 24 hours.

I need more phones
and whiteboards, guys.

Ron, they asked

the united states
supreme court for a stay.

I seriously doubt
they'll grant it.

There's no way the counting of
votes can cause irreparable harm.

Congress resolves presidential
disputes, not the u.s. Supreme court.

The protectors of the
constitution know damn well

to stay the hell away
from all of this.

If the current pace
is maintained,

they might be able to finish

by about 9:00 tonight.

Escambia county... plus
three. Escambia... Plus three.

Michael, okeechobee... Plus 10.

- Okeechobee... plus 10, guys.
- Plus 10.

Madison... plus two.

You've gotta come down four.
Madison... plus two.

- Jeremy.
- Yeah.

- Down two more.
- Down two.

- What are we at?
- 141.

Osceola... up three.

Osceola... up three.

That's just one. Just one.

We picked up three in
suwannee and three in desoto.

We're minus three for palm,

okay? Minus three.

Orange county... plus 18.

Orange county... plus 18.

Jan, we got manatee...
Manatee's down one.

Down one, manatee.

Okay, clay... Clay's up two.

- What's that?
- 98 votes.

98 votes.
We're down by 98 votes.

Wait wait, how many
more counties?

51.

- Madison... plus two.
- Madison... plus two.

Hey, guys, guys, guys,

the u.s. Supreme court
just issued a stay.

All counting across the state

has to stop immediately.

- You gotta be kidding.
- On what grounds?

- How could they have done that?
- I don't know.

I'm getting boies. Turn
up the tv. Is that on?

The us supreme court, one,

stays the order of the
florida state supreme court

which seemed to stop
the recount in its place;

And secondly, has
agreed to a writ of certiorari,

will hear the case on monday...

it's terrific.

Dissents were over the fact
that they did stop.

The dissent says, "to stop
the counting of legal votes,

the majority today departs
from three venerable rules

of judicial restraint that have guided
the court throughout its history."

So the dissent is based
on the fact

that they shouldn't have
acted so quickly.

Guys, just got this
from al gore.

He says, quote, "make sure

no one trashes
the supreme court,"

end quote.

The traditionally conservative
judges voting for the stay

and the traditionally liberal
judges voting against it.

Justice john paul stevens
issued a blistering dissent.

Preventing the recount
from being completed

will inevitably cast a cloud

over the legitimacy
of the election.

The florida court's ruling
reflects the basic principle

that every legal vote
should be counted.

The majority has acted unwisely.

I believe a brief response
is necessary

to justice stevens's dissent.

The counting of votes

that are
of questionable legality

does in my view threaten
irreparable harm

to the petitioner,
george w. Bush,

and to the country,

by casting a cloud
upon what he claims to be

the legitimacy of his election.

Mr. Boies, Mr. Boies.

Since the united states
supreme court set the hearing

for december 11th, won't this
prevent you from completing the recount

by the december 12th deadline?

It's the single most
disappointing thing

that the five justices
have done.

To put it simply,
they ran out our clock.

How counting votes
could have caused

irreparable harm to bush
is mind-boggling.

- Mr. Boies, Mr. Boies.
- Second row.

Do you have a strategy
for the hearing?

Yes. Excuse me.

Our strategy begins
with one fundamental truth...

Every vote from every citizen

deserves to be counted.
And we believe that

that is what will prevail
in the courts. Thank you.

Mr. Boies, Mr. Boies.

It is the decisive moment
in this election

and the crowds who surround
the supreme court today know it.

Demonstrators have been here

on the steps of
the supreme court for hours,

awaiting the beginning
of today's arguments.

The justices
inside this building

are the ultimate arbiters.

They will decide who
will be the next president.

So olson's primary argument
is that the florida supreme court

changed the law when they
extended the deadline.

Kennedy has never seemed
impressed with the "new law" argument.

What about the equal
protection argument?

I don't think olson
has much faith in it.

It's buried in the last
five pages of their brief.

I'm only eating
the red ones today.

I think kennedy is
our only shot.

This is it, isn't it?

Yes, ron, this is it.

Oyez oyez oyez,
all persons having business

before the honorable supreme
court of the united states

are admonished to draw near

and give their attention,

for this court is now sitting.

God save the united states
and this honorable court.

I understand you think
that the system

that's set up now
is very unfair,

because it's different
standards in different places.

But what in your opinion
would be a fair standard?

Certainly, at minimum,
justice breyer,

a penetration of the ballot
card would be required.

Well, would the starting
point be

what the secretary of state
katherine harris decided

was the uniform standard?

I would agree with that,
justice o'connor.

I'd still like to get your view

as to what would be
the fair standard.

A reasonable standard

would have to be, at minimum,

a penetration of the chad
in the ballot,

because dimples or
indentations are no standard at all.

I think there is
a uniform standard.

The standard is whether
or not the intent of the voter

is reflected by the ballot.

That's very general.

Even a dog knows the difference

between being stumbled over
and being kicked.

So would you say

from the standpoint of
the equal protection clause

each county could give
its own interpretation

as to what "intent" means?

I think what's bothering
justice kennedy is

the rule to counting
dimpled chads varies

from county to county.

Broward and miami-dade
were counting them,

palm beach was not.

What would you tell them
to do about it?

Well, I think that's
a very hard question.

You'd tell them to count
every vote, Mr. Boies.

Yes, I would tell them
to count every vote.

I think I would say, if
you're looking for a standard,

then the texas standard, if you
wanted to specify something,

gives you
a pretty good standard.

It says dimpled chads
should be counted.

Why isn't the standard the one

that voters are instructed to
follow, for goodness' sake?

I mean, it couldn't be clearer.

Why don't we go
to that standard?

Well, your honor,
because in florida law

since 1917, darby v. State,

the florida supreme court
has held

that where the intent of
the voter can be discerned,

even if they don't do
what they're told,

their vote is supposed
to be counted.

For the last 80 years the
florida court has always ruled

that the right to participate
in the democratic process

is more important

than a voter's ability
to follow instructions.

Mr. Boies, let's assume
that at the end of the day

counties used different
standards for making their count.

At that point, in your judgment,

would it be a violation
of the constitution to say,

"I don't care that they
used different standards

as long as they purported
to follow voter's intent,

that's good enough"?
Can we do that?

I'll extend your time
by two minutes, Mr. Boies.

I do not believe that violates
the equal protection clause.

It is impossible
to have uniform standards

when different types
of voting machines

and different types of ballots
are used from county to county.

Hand-counting
and recounting of ballots

under the "intent
of the voter" standard

has been the rule,
not the exception,

in this country
for generations...

Indeed, since its founding.

It is the moment of truth.

The supreme court may
use this moment to determine

who is the next president
of the united states.

There are many ways
this decision could go.

The two most
commonly discussed are

that the supreme court
could send...

It could ask florida
to resume the recount...

does anyone want to play cards?

The disputed ballots,

the ballots that were
undercounted

by the machine count...
Hang on one second.

- They're interrupting me now.
- It's in!

Shh, it's in.

Our long wait is over.
Greta van susteren,

another cnn legal analyst,
is on the telephone. Greta.

Bernie, what it seems
to say at this point

is that we don't know for sure.

"The closeness of this
election and the multitude

of legal challenges
which have... ".

- What's that mean?
- Just one moment, mr. Vice president.

And it's a highly
confusing opinion

and with so many dissents,
I think it would be

irresponsible of me to come
out and give you a definitive...

I'm gonna put you on
speakerphone, mr. Vice president.

Are you still there, sir?

Yeah, I'm here.

There are two rulings
in this decision, sir...

The first is
a seven-to-two ruling

that there is an equal
protection violation;

And the second ruling

is the remedy to that
violation, which is five-to-four.

- We finally have the ruling.
- Let me just hold it up

so that our viewers
can see it here.

It is a booklet,
and it is quite thick.

Let me just add,
the most interesting part

that I find as a legal analyst.

The first part of this opinion
is written "per curiam."

That's an unsigned opinion
which is an order of the court.

"Per curiam"
means "for the court."

This is a highly obscure...

and it shows the divisiveness
and the difficulty they had...

make heads or tails
out of anything...

yes, I need to speak
to the governor, please.

The majority has ruled

that since we missed
the december 12th deadline

set by the florida
supreme court...

then there isn't time to resolve

the equal protection violation

and therefore
the recount must end.

The supreme court
shuts down the recount

'causing us to Miss the
deadline. Then they say

that we can't start up again
because we missed the deadline?

That's pretty much it, sir.

What you got, jim?

Seems like nobody can
make sense of this thing.

Congratulations,
mr. President-elect.

Yeah!

Did you hear that?

That sounds good.

Ron, you gotta read this.

- Right there.
- What is it, ron?

The court has ruled

that this decision is, quote,

"limited

to the present circumstances."

Unbelievable.

The supreme court has declared

that bush v. Gore
only counts once,

and then it never counts again.

Have they ever done that before?

Never once in the history
of the u.s. Supreme court.

What do you think, david?

I think the ruling is
intellectually dishonest,

but the point is crystal clear...

The recount is over.

Mr. Vice president, our
battle is not yet done.

The majority ruled that there
is an equal protection violation

because different counties are
counting with different standards.

So let's petition
the florida supreme court

and get them to set
exact counting standards.

Under these circumstances,
they might finally do it.

David?

I think ron's lost his mind,

but I'll drink the kool-aid.

The florida house
has already voted

to award the state's
electors to bush.

Yeah, but then we
just file two lawsuits...

One to set standards, the
other to halt the legislature.

We can do this, sir.

Ron, nobody can fault you
for not trying, but...

No no no, mr. Vice
president. Please please, sir,

listen to me.

You cannot concede.

Not yet, sir.

I beg of you, sir, just
give me one more shot.

Klain is gonna petition the
florida supremes to set standards.

Sometimes a soldier
just can't stop fighting

even when he knows
the war is done.

I've run over 25 recounts and
it never ceases to amaze me...

The extent that democrats

will lie, cheat and steal
to win an election.

I mean, if we hadn't
played hardball,

they would've stolen
this one too.

Now, ben, I was a democrat
till I was 40 years old.

I have always wondered
why you switched parties.

Uh, my wife passed away...

Cancer.

I'm so sorry.

Thank you.

Yes, she was...
She was too young.

A very close friend of mine,

who happened to be a
republican, was running for senate

and told me to come
work on his campaign

to take my mind off the grief.

I told him I had never
worked in politics before,

and I was a democrat
to boot, but he didn't care.

He just...

He just didn't want
to see me sad all the time.

That's a good friend.

He sure is.

The vice president's
on the phone.

Good morning,
mr. Vice president.

Hey, ron.

What can I do for you, sir?

I couldn't sleep last night.

I just couldn't stop thinking,

but then I remembered

what a wise man once said to me.

He said that
I have to end this war

when I know I can't win.

Ron, I can't win.

Even if I win,

I can't win.

I'm sorry, sir. I...

I just...

I just couldn't
get them counted.

I'll never forget
what you did for me, ron.

I will never forget.

Thank you, mr. Vice president.

Ron, we should still
file the petitions.

Let's just see if it works.

We've come this far,
ron. We can't quit now.

Yeah, we can keep
fighting this thing, man.

I want to tell you all

what an honor it's been to
work with such a dedicated

and focused group as
you have all proved to be.

I'm enormously grateful
for everything you did.

But it's time for us to stop.

People are going to say
all kinds of things

about this election...

That it was down to 154 votes,

that bush's brother
was the governor,

that the u.s. Supreme court
gave it to us,

but I want you to remember

that we won
every single recount.

Never once did we trail gore.

And who knows
how many votes we lost

when the networks
called florida for gore

before all the polls were
closed on election night?

But more important than all that

is that the system worked.

There were no tanks
on the streets.

This peaceful transfer of power

in the most emotional
and trying of times

is a testament

to the strength
of the constitution

and to our faith

in the rule of law.

It took a long time
getting here...

but here's to george w. Bush,

the 43rd president
of the united states.

Hear hear!

We should have asked for
a statewide from the get-go.

That was our biggest mistake.

Mm-hmm, and ralph nader

should've pulled his
head out of his ass.

And elian gonzales
should've never left miami.

And gore should've
campaigned with clinton.

And clinton should've got
caught getting a blow job

from sharon stone
instead of monica lewinsky

'cause then his approval ratings
would have shot through the roof.

And katherine harris
should've thought twice

about purging 20,000
voters from the rolls.

And george bush, jr., should
have never quit drinking,

but he did.

It is what it is, pal.

Four years from now
we'll come back,

gather our information
and go right back at 'em.

Even after all the mistakes
and all the corruption,

we still had
about half a day there

when the entire state
was counting.

Mm-hmm, do you think if
w. Had asked for a recount,

the supreme court
would have stopped it?

Good question.

Uh-huh.

Would you get this on board?
I'll be right back.

Mr. Secretary.

Good to see you, mr. Klain.

So did the best man win then?

You bet.

Are you sure about that?

As sure as you are
about your man.

I hope you're right,
mr. Secretary.

I do hope you're right.

You have a safe trip, mr. Klain.

Thank you, sir.

Good evening,
my fellow americans.

I appreciate so very much

the opportunity to speak
with you tonight.

Tonight I want to thank all
the thousands of volunteers

and campaign workers

who worked so hard on my behalf.

Republicans want
the best for our nation,

and so do democrats.

I was not elected
to serve one party,

but to serve one nation.

The president
of the united states

is the president
of every single american

of every race
and every background.

Whether you voted for me or not,

I will do my best
to serve your interests

and I will work
to earn your respect.

Just moments ago,
I spoke with george w. Bush

and congratulated him
on becoming

the 43rd president
of the united states.

And I promised him

that I wouldn't
call him back this time.

I know that many of my
supporters are disappointed.

I am too.

But our disappointment
must be overcome

by our love of country.

This is america,

and we put country before party.

We will stand together
behind our new president.

As for the battle
that ends tonight,

I do believe,
as my father once said,

that no matter
how hard the loss,

defeat may serve
as well as victory

to shake the soul
and let the glory out.

- Thank you and good night.
- Thank you very much.

- And god bless america.
- And god bless america.