Lawsuits, dirty looks and imagined crises

I'm getting a little sick of people saying that we don't have a president. I've got news for you, and no, it's not some breaking bit of info that I just saw on CNN.

We've got a president. His name is Bill Clinton. I think you've heard of him. His term doesn't end for a few more months.

Exhale.

Take a deep breath; maybe even turn CNN off for a minute. And remember that it doesn't matter that we don't know who the next president will be right now. I know there are unanswered questions out there, but do they really matter. What are you really missing by shortening this transition period?

Are you biting your nails waiting to hear who the next Secretary of the Interior will be?

Are you up late at night worrying about which balls the new president will attend on Inauguration Day?

I didn't think so. Yet this is all you're missing while the votes in Florida are recounted - again - and the candidates bog down the courts with lawsuit after lawsuit. I'm sensitive to the fact that planning an administrative takeover, especially if the change over could be hostile, is not the easiest thing in the world. Whoever wins this election needs to have the time to build their staff and plan out the details that will make the White House run.

But that's why the Inauguration isn't until January. Well, actually that's a lie. The Founders were concerned about traveling in winter and therefore set the inauguration for March. That was later moved up to January, but this is all a little beside the point. The point is that for whatever reason, a choice made by the Founders has once again benefited the future of our democracy, even it was done unknowingly.

And while sensitivity to the importance of a transition is important, I'm far more sensitive to the rule of law, the will of the people and the sanctity of our electoral process. That's why we must let the process in Florida run its course.

Many people are attacking Al Gore for asking for recounts. And perhaps, in the long term, they're right to say that politically he should have stepped aside and run in four years. But the laws in Florida are clear. Recounts are legal. A provision to allow hand recounts is written into the Florida election process. If hand recounts are so bad, why didn't the state legislature and Jeb Bush get together to get rid of them? More importantly, why did George W. Bush sign a bill into law within the past year to allow for hand recounts in Texas?

And George, why are you harping on the fact that you've won each count and therefore we should stop? Doesn't it strike anyone else as odd, and indeed concerning, that while Bush is right in declaring his victory in each count, the margin in those victories changed each time? Originally, the margin was 1,700 votes, then 300. Now, with absentees, it's 900. Shouldn't we count the ballots until we can be sure what the total is, it's only the most important office in the land that's on the line here.

Bush says Florida should stop recounting by hand because there's too much room for mischief. Well, if that's the case, then why did he sign a law allowing for the same process in Texas? It seems there are some sweaty palms in Austin and they're hoping brother Jeb and Secretary of State Katherine Harris can steal this thing away for W. before anyone realizes what happened.

Meanwhile, Al and his legal team have filed lawsuit after lawsuit despite what seems to be pretty hard evidence that he lost. And he could have been the knight in shining armor, the man who stayed above political squabbling, if he had bowed out early. But, alas, he decided to stay and fight and that brings us to yet another Florida Supreme Court hearing today.

So with that said, I'm going to address a few people in particular, knowing full well that they're not reading this:

To George W.: If you really believe you won the vote, let them recount it and certify it. Put your transition team in place (all you have to do is call Dick, Colin and the rest of your dad's cronies) and get ready to take over. You probably won, don't get cranky about it. Act like you've been there.

To Al: If you lose, concede already. Don't be a crybaby about this. Just take the votes as they are and move on. If you just would have won your home state you wouldn't be going through this anyway, so stop whining. I know you've been planning this ever since you cried to your daddy, "But I want White House underoos, not Batman!" But to you I say the same thing I said to GWB: Act like you've been there.

And to both of you, your campaigns, your lawyers and your surrogates in sunny Florida: Stop the press conferences. The accusations. The dirty looks. Sit down and figure this out, not through dueling press releases and harassing press statements.

More than 200 years ago we decided to put our faith in the law. Our democracy is not run on the whim of any man, organization or political party, at least in its purest form. We stand on the brink of a chance to return to that purity, if we can just let this process happen.

But everyone out there needs to take a deep breath. We've waited this long, I think we can wait a few more days.

- Mike Spahn can be reached

via e-mail at mspahn@umich.edu.

Mike Spahn

Pray for Rain