Reporter's file: Gore (coulda) won

St Pete Times' Tom Tobin, pulls out his FL recount file to look at then-overlooked optical scan overvotes: "The recount will forever be remembered for punch card voting machines and the tiny paper "chads" they produced. We think of big South Florida counties, rich with Democratic votes, where Gore sent lawyers and operatives by the planeload.

"In hindsight, however, his best chance was in the 41 counties that had optical scan ballots, which required voters to fill in ovals or arrows. Of particular interest were 3,491 spoiled ballots, most of them optical scan, later examined by the media consortium. The voters who cast these ballots selected either Bush or Gore for president, but also wrote in their candidate's name or otherwise marked the ballot to emphasize their choice.

"Their intent could not have been clearer, yet they had turned their votes into "overvotes." The problem was that many of Florida's county election supervisors interpreted the law to say that overvotes should not be counted at all, even in a manual recount — a position that was certainly open to challenge in 2000. The law has since been changed to cut down on overvotes and consider them in recounts.

"In any case, 62 percent of the 3,491 overvotes in question were clear selections for Gore, and would have been enough to push him over the top."

Comments

Oh brother. Get over it Tom Tobin, Gore lost. So did Kerry. God willing, so will Barack Obama.

Great. Does that mean we get a do over with the Iraq war and the economy. Where was this information in 2000? Now you tell us.

The optical scan ballot also provide the greatest opportunity for fraud which is why Democrats wanted them so bad.

He lost. He lost. He lost. He lost...every recount...he LOST!

Why didn't he say something when the "press recount" was completed about six months after GWB won 5 to 4?

Does anyone believe that the Republicans can manage to cheat enough to win this time? I don't, but I am a bit worried.

THIS is how the Times is trying to scare up Dem votes?

UGH.

BWAHAHAHAHA

idiots.

[Democrats Stole Washington State election 2004]

Nov. 6, 1997

Author, former offender among speakers

By Jennifer Vanasco
News Office

Children who kill are called “super predators,” “people with no conscience,” “feral pre-social beings” — and “adults.”

William Ayers, author of A Kind and Just Parent: The Children of Juvenile Court (Beacon Press, 1997), says “We should call a child a child. A 13-year-old who picks up a gun isn’t suddenly an adult. We have to ask other questions: How did he get the gun? Where did it come from?”

Ayers, who spent a year observing the Cook County Temporary Juvenile Detention Center in Chicago, is one of four panelists who will speak on juvenile justice at 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 20, in the C-Shop. The panel, which marks the 100th anniversary of the juvenile justice system in the United States, is part of the Community Service Center’s monthly discussion series on issues affecting the city of Chicago. The event is free and open to the public.

Ayers will be joined by Sen. Barack Obama, Senior Lecturer in the Law School, who is working to combat legislation that would put more juvenile offenders into the adult system; Randolph Stone, Director of the Mandel Legal Aid Clinic; Alex Correa, a reformed juvenile offender who spent seven years in Cook County Temporary Detention Center; Frank Tobin, a former priest and teacher at the Detention Center who helped Correa; and Willy Baldwin, who grew up in public housing and is currently a teacher at the Detention Center.

The juvenile justice system was founded by Chicago reformer Jane Addams, who advocated the establishment of a separate court system for children which would act like a “kind and just parent” for children in crisis.

One hundred years later, the system is “overcrowded, under-funded, over-centralized and racist,” Ayers said.

Michelle Obama, Associate Dean of Student Services and Director of the University Community Service Center, hopes bringing issues like this to campus will open a dialogue between members of the University community and the broader community.

“Students and faculty explore these issues in the classroom, but it is an internal conversation,” Obama said. “We know that issues like juvenile justice impact the city of Chicago, this nation and — directly or indirectly — this campus. This panel gives students a chance to hear about the juvenile justice system not only on a theoretical level, but from the people who have experienced it.”

As the article notes, Michelle Obama was the Director of the University Of Chicago’s Community Service program at the time.

So this panel was surely her doing. She invited Mr. Ayers.

Still, we all must be mistaken, since we have been repeatedly reassured that Mr. Ayers “was just a guy who lived in the Obamas’ neighborhood.”

America has been through financial scandals before. The last was the Savings and Loan Crisis of the 1980s: thousands of citizens lost their life savings; the taxpayers on the hook for over 150 billion dollars. Convicted Felon Charles Keating defrauded thousands of people. And who pressured federal regulators not to investigate Keating? John S. McCain.
So, why should we trust McCain, who was in the middle of the last financial scandal, to lead America through this one?

GIVE IT A REST LIBERAL TIMES, PRES. BUSH WON NO MATTER HOW MANY TIMES YOU COUNT IT.

YOU'RE ONLY TRYING TO BRING IT UP TO STIR ANGER IN HOPE OF GETTING MORE VOTES FOR OBAMA.

THE REAL TRUTH IS BARACK OBAMA IS A RACIST LIKE JEREMIAH WRIGHT.

IS OBAMA A MUSLIM TERRORIST PLANT?

Obama supports open borders with Mexico!!!

http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/10/06/america/06mexico.php

Wow, judging from the comments on this blog, Republicans aren't merely rigid ideologues who are incompetent at governing -- they're also closet racists.

It's like George Wallace and Joe McCarthy in one shiny, fascist package.

Hekuva political party you've got there, Republicans!

1st Count: Bush Won
2nd Count: Bush Won
3rd Count: Bush Won
4th Count: Bush Won
5th Count: Bush Won
6th Count: Bush Won
7th Count: Bush Won
8th Count: Bush Won
9th Count: Bush Won
10th Count: Bush Won
11th Count: Bush Won
12th Count: Bush Won
13th Count: Bush Won
14th Count: Bush Won
15th Count: Bush Won
16th Count: Bush Won
17th Count: Bush Won
18th Count: Bush Won
19th Count: Bush Won

on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on.......................

[Republicans show no remorse for ruining our nation.]

Certainly shows how dense Republicans are. Instead of saying "Imagine, we might not be in this sad shape if we hadn't voted for THE WORST PRESIDENT EVER", all they can muster by way of a response is "quit whining!" I'll bet they'll be obtuse enough to vote for McBush again in 2008.

8:49 No you have it all wrong.

I am saying "imagine, we might not be in this sad shape if"

The Democrats didn't run Fannie and Freddie; the cause of the foreclosure and credit meltdown.

The Democrat President killed Osama when we had a chance instead of sticking cigars into fat interns.

The Democrats didn't undermine the war effort from day one.

The Democrats would have worked with McCain and the GOP to further regulate Fannie and Freddie 3 years ago.

Yes, I can imagine how things would have turned out differently.

Having Ayres, Rezko and Jerry Wright over for state dinners will be a nice change of pace.

9:57 Right, just like I said at 8:49. No remorse, plan to vote for Bush III all over again. Obtuse!

Gore lost the election and has since "earned" hundreds of millions of dollars on his global warming scam.

I am sure he is not feeling too bad about his loss in 2000.

10:02

Have you taken your meds yet?

OK slowly now: I am remorseful that the Democrats have put their personal power over the country.

This is not new for them: Just this time they have brought us to a very dangerous place.

Obama is just more of the same.

What we need now is to turn the country as far left as possible. And Obama, Pelosi and Reid will surely fit the bill.

i still hate katherin harris

10:10 One more time:

Gulp gulp How was the Kool-Aid this morning?

Repeat after Bush: I am not remorseful that I have ruined our economy. Instead of accepting the blame and working to help fix things, I will keep trying to find a way to scapegoat the DEMs.

This is not new for McCain: Just like his fellow liar, they have brought us to a very dangerous place.

McBush: No answers, just more of the same.

[Joe Friday(]

While I agree the matter(and outcome)is forever consigned to history, anyone who actually thinks Bush carried Florida in 2000 is simply delusional, the rankest form of GOP hack, or most likely both.

You all should just accept that the election of GW was a gift from the
US Supreme Court(decided 5-4 along partisan lines) and, in reality, from the Gore campaign itself, whose strategic approach to the recount was fatally flawed from the beginning.

7:29 no Republican would judge anything by the Buzz Blog. Only a fool would do that.

2:38

McCain was exonerated post-Keating. The other Senators who were not...all Democrats