7 -13 December 2000
Issue No.511
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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 7 -13 December 2000 Issue No.511 |
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | Current issue | Previous issue | Site map | ||
Desperate measures
By Mohamed HakkiUnder normal circumstances, one would feel sorry for Vice President Al Gore. He's practically spent his whole life running for president of the United States. It is said that he has always felt that the presidency was never an "if" -- only a "when." He felt he had a "rendezvous with destiny." In fact, despite a tough race, Gore has never truly believed that he had a rival. His comments never seemed to fully acknowledge his "opponent", as he referred to Governor George W Bush. Even in his acceptance speech, when he was nominated as the Democratic candidate, he suggested that he may not be the most attractive candidate, but he was the best one.
The problem is, he's still running. Even after the highest court in the land, the US Supreme Court, as well as the US District Court in Tallahassee, Florida, handed him the most crushing defeats, he still thinks he won. A number of people who have spoken to Gore in the last few days have said they found him in denial, "almost isolated" -- divorced from reality. In an interview with CBS's 60 Minutes, he said, "I think I won. I think the majority of the people in Florida who went to the polls intended to support Joe Lieberman and me." When Leslie Stahl asked him if he has given any thought to what would happen if things didn't go his way, he quipped, "Very little, because, you know, coming into the election I was pretty well prepared to win."
In his constant attempt to be cute, giggling unceasingly, he referred to a cartoon in one of the papers that showed Bush and Gore sprinting toward the finish line, but the finish line was being held by two other runners, running further ahead. Gore should have mentioned a more apt cartoon, in which he and Bush are shown as two boxers, with Gore lying down for the count in the ring and the referee saying: "One million and one, one million and two."
The question now is not when should he concede, but when would it be best for him (and America) to concede, after fighting and denying the results for so long. Should he bow out now, in as gracious and statesmanlike manner as possible, in order to preserve his chances in 2004? Or should he continue to listen to his lawyers and go to the Florida Supreme Court?
WILL THEY, WON'T THEY?: The legal fall out from the 7 November American presidential elections continues, and Leon County Circuit Judge Nikki Clark is just one of many caught up in the ripples as she is called on to decide whether or not to throw out absentee ballots in Seminole County
A growing number of Democrats are saying that Gore may be right. In other words, if all the ballots were recounted manually, Gore might indeed garner enough additional votes to overtake Governor Bush in Florida. But these same people are now saying, at what cost? Some are even wondering aloud whether Gore has any regard left for the interests of his country.
The average citizen must, by now, be totally confused with all these lawsuits, which, we are told, total over 40 at last count. Al Gore faces an extraordinarily steep climb if he is to persuade the Florida Supreme Court to resuscitate his presidential hopes given the rebuke the state court received from the US Supreme Court and a meticulously-crafted lower court ruling from Leon County Circuit Court Judge Sanders Sauls. Sauls' ruling sounded like a Bush press release, stating that there was "no credible statistical evidence" showing a reasonable probability that Gore received the most votes statewide. Florida's Supreme Court will have to factor the US high court's cautionary ruling into its legal calculus.
The Gore team is relying on the principle that every vote counts. It may even be true that Gore did win the majority of votes in Florida. But ultimately, Gore is more likely to lose because of convoluted legal tangles stipulating that all presidential election disputes must be resolved by 12 December, to ensure that Florida's participation in the Electoral College vote is not jeopardised. Interestingly enough, it was a web of legal tangles that allowed President Bill Clinton -- who blatantly lied to the American people (and the Congress) -- to retain his office.
All this may be subject to scholarly studies for years to come, but what the country now needs is to move ahead. The task facing President-elect George Bush has never been an easy one, given the ideological, cultural, racial, and gender divisions that split the nation today. But it is made more difficult every day by constant delays and legal challenges. Every newly elected president needs ample time to develop his transition team and choose his advisers and cabinet. This is supposed to be the time when a president-elect truly feels that the country is behind him. The fact that Congress is also split down the middle does not help. Bush needs to reach out to Democrats and include some of them in his cabinet. He needs to think of what he can fulfil from his legislative agenda and focus on foreign policy issues in order to save, or restore, America's image abroad. The London-based weekly The Economist went as far as to suggest that Senator Joseph Leiberman might be offered a Bush administration position, if only to smooth over Israel's suspicions of a Bush White House. Regardless of its obvious bias toward Israel, The Economist must feel like everyone else that one of the victims of this confusion in Washington is the so-called peace process.
One significant incident comes to mind, as it aptly illustrates not only America's rudderless foreign policy, but the unbelievable degree of Zionist censorship imposed on all US media. I refer to last Friday's UN General Assembly condemnation of Israeli dominance over Jerusalem. The resolution stated that Israel's decision to impose "its laws, jurisdiction and administration on the Holy City of Jerusalem is illegal, and therefore null and void and has no validity." But this denouncement did not find its way into any major newspaper or television channel in the US. Not surprisingly, only Israel voted against the resolution. The US abstained.
If anything is to come of the uncertainty still surrounding the US presidency, perhaps it could be that President Clinton still hogs the limelight and retains the ability to revive the dead peace process. To quote veteran Palestinian scholar-activist Hanan Ashrawi -- whose letter to President Clinton could never be published here -- Clinton still has the opportunity before midnight, 19 January 2001 "to embark on a penitential pilgrimage of the soul."
Related stories:
Keeping the populace entertained
All hat and no cattle 30 Nov. - 6 Dec. 2000
Bushestan defeats Gorestan 30 Nov. - 6 Dec. 2000
The Florida fiasco 23 - 29 November 2000
The Undecided States of America 23 - 29 November 2000
Democracy laid bare 16 - 22 November 2000
See US Election 2000
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