“Recount” is a dramatization of the Florida vote of the Bush / Gore contest. Many liberals still contend that Bush “stole”the election. Many conservatives contend that they stopped Gore from “stealing ” the election.

The miracle was that the transition still happened in the courts and not in the streets. Few countries in the world could have survived such a contentious and questionable conclusion to such a close election. The rule of law prevailed.

An aspect of the famous recount was often ignored at the time. Katherine Harris, the Florida Secretary of State, begged the media not to make any prediction until all of the polls closed. Florida is in two time zones; the conservative panhandle is on central time. By calling the election in favor of Gore (against Harris’s wishes) several thousand voters in the panhandle, largely Bush country, were discouraged from voting. Otherwise Bush may have had a lead of thousands of points; still close but much less contestable. This why the recount would have been unfair unless it was done statewide.

In the interest of fair elections the media should be restricted in what they can report and how and when it is reported. It may be an intrusion of press freedom, but it is justified to keep our elections fair.

If the network media was 90% Republican instead of 90% Democrat I would bet these rules would already be in place.

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