Bush, Gore camp step up rhetoric

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

WASHINGTON, NOV. 13. The next few days are crucial for the Vice- President, Mr. Al Gore, and the Texas Governor, Mr. George W. Bush. And the challenges are not only on the legal front, but on the political and public relations fronts as well. Keeping away from the media for the most part in the last four days has done both candidates well, but the fact that aides and operatives are doing the ``job'' at the candidates' bidding has not been lost on the public at large.

The first attention is on what the Federal Judge in Florida will rule on the Bush campaign's plea for an injunction against manual counting in four largely Democratic counties. The criticism has been that the Democrats are on a fishing expedition in the counties, seeking more votes for Mr. Gore. The Bush campaign is hoping that the Judge - an appointee of the President, Mr. Bill Clinton - would rule that manual counting in just four out of 67 counties in the State constitutes unequal treatment under the 14th Amendment.

But Republicans have other problems with the manual counting. ``It is all subjective and, therefore, it presents terrible problems of human error and potential for mischief'', argues Mr. James Baker, the former Secretary of State and now a senior observer for Mr. Bush in Florida. Says the former Republican Senator from Wyoming, Mr. Alan Simpson, ``These election officials in these counties are Democrats... it throws the issue of fairness into grave, grave posture''.

Beneath all that talk of wanting to have a quick end to the ongoing drama in Florida, the Democrats are also genuinely worried about what the next legal step should be. While saying that they are for an expeditious end to the recount process, the Democrats are also unwilling to say that if after tallying overseas ballots, Mr. Bush comes out on top whether that would be the end of the line as far as the legal options are concerned.

The first challenge to both Mr. Gore and Mr. Bush would come on Monday after the ruling of the Federal Judge. If the call for an injunction against manual counting is sustained, what will the Gore campaign do? By the same token, if the Judge favours manual recounting in four counties, what is the next step for the Bush campaign - all the way to the Supreme Court?

The argument of the Gore campaign that it was not behind the eight or so individual law suits filed in Florida courts is not being taken seriously. The campaign has said that it will support the cases and it was actively involved in setting up phone banks to take calls from disgruntled voters. The Grand Old Party is firmly of the view that the Gore campaign is very much behind the law suits.

Analysts believe that Mr. Gore already has a problem in the sense that he would have to shake off the image of just another politician who will do anything to hang on. Privately, top Democrats say that politically it would do well for 2004 if the Vice-President concedes defeat gracefully. One aspect that Mr. Bill Bradley, a one time contender for the Democratic nomination, mentioned that goes for both Mr. Gore and Mr. Bush was that the American people do not like ``sore losers''.

With the two sides involved to the fullest extent on the legal front, getting out of the political mess is not going to be easy. And some of this has to do with the heightened pitch of rhetoric coming in the last two days, each side upping the ante in the process. The Gore campaign has left the possibility of further legal actions wide open; and the Republicans have countered this by saying that they will open up Oregon, New Mexico, Iowa and Wisconsin.

It might just be that the Republicans are doing a lot of talking without really meaning what they say. With the exception of New Mexico where Mr. Bush is at present leading by 17 votes, Mr. Gore has won the States of Oregon, Wisconsin and Iowa by margins of 5000 or slightly more. Therefore, the argument that Florida with an Electoral College tally of 25 votes pales into insignificance if Mr. Bush gets these four States may be theoretically correct, but practically very difficult to achieve.

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