Here are the planted axioms:

  • In any normal country, Gore would be acclaimed the winner for the simple reason that he got a majority of the people who voted on Nov. 7.

  • It's true, we have the good old Electoral College system. But even under its auspices, there is a pretty good likelihood that Gore is the winner. Look at it this way: We are talking about a margin of only a few hundred voters in a state in which 6 million voted. It isn't a point we want to discuss publicly, but the ambiguous votes are preponderantly Democratic. Republicans are the clerical set, and when they face a ballot with a little square in it, they know to stick something through it without leaving dancing chads here and there.

    This isn't the kind of thing that's going to find its way into sociology textbooks, but it's a fact: The kind of people who are going to produce ambiguous ballots are the less well-instructed Americans, the more careless types; types less accustomed to the disciplines of civic behavior. They tend to be Democrats. So therefore the more latitudinarian the canvas, the higher the likelihood that Vice President Gore is the victor.

  • There are motions that need to be undertaken for the sake of appearances as also to face political realities. The most obdurate political reality has been Ms. Harris. She is a Republican and did everything she could to precipitate closure (she used that term, "precipitate closure" -- sounds off as reckless and stuffy). When our Judge Lewis ruled that Harris must act with discretion, that was good. But when he went on, after her ruling, to say she had acted with discretion, that was no good. It helped that he didn't elaborate his reasons for concluding that she had behaved reasonably. That made it easier for the full Florida Supreme Court to come in and say ...

  • Hey there, Katherine! Hold your horses. We are going to get an en banc hearing (that's with six Democrats) and get the public lost with things like counts, recounts, ballots, official ballots, county deadlines and state deadlines. In terms of promoting general confusion, it couldn't have gone better. Just study one question asked. It was by Justice Pariente: