Election Hangs on Florida

How many times does George W. Bush have to win Florida to receive its 25 electoral votes? He won it on election night (unofficially), he won it after the automatic recount (unofficially), and now he has won it with the inclusion of the absentee ballots (unofficially). Let’s make it official and end the nonsense!

MICHAEL FULCHER

Bell

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No amount of time and effort spent in the careful hand-counting of ballots could possibly be “too long” or “too much” to arrive at the final determination that we have no choice but to accept Bush as our president.

BRUCE BURROUGHS

Sherman Oaks

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With the Florida vote so close, why not split the Electoral College electors between the two candidates, 13 for Bush and 12 for Al Gore, or vice versa? This would better reflect the desires of the Florida voters.

ALBERT J. LECHNER

Thousand Oaks

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Some friendly advice for the next presidential candidate whose opponent calls to concede defeat: Don’t wait a nanosecond. Give your acceptance speech immediately. Ad-lib it if you have to. Name your entire Cabinet on the spot. Heck, conduct a Cabinet meeting on the spot. Sign an executive order. Veto something.

JORDAN CHODOROW

Los Angeles

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Is there some way we can cede Florida to Cuba?

CHARLIE FRANK

Torrance

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I have heard many people calling on Vice President Gore to do the noble thing. But no one seems to be calling on Gov. Bush to do the noble thing. Bush lost the popular vote and, except for an illegal and confusing ballot in Palm Beach County, would have lost the electoral college vote. But instead of trying to determine the will of the people, Bush is in court to block the will of the people.

During the campaign, Bush promised that his administration would not just ask “Is it legal?” but would also ask “Is it right?” He is not in office yet and has already violated that promise.

KEN WALDRAM

Santa Ana

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On Nov. 7, I voted. On Nov. 11, I was recognized and thanked as a veteran for my service to my country. At the same time a group of slick-haired attorneys were sent into the ballot-counting areas in Florida. They had written instructions on how to not only intrude in the electoral process but how to invalidate our servicemen’s and servicewomen’s ballots, so that their candidate could prevail in the election. This is totally unacceptable! No party has the right to interfere with this process!

THOMAS N. BATES

Malibu

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I’m sure no one wants our servicemen and servicewomen to have their votes discounted on a technicality, but how did it happen that a military person’s vote is any more sacrosanct than a vote cast by a Palm Beach senior citizen who fought in WWII? The Bush people wrap themselves in self-righteous patriotism while they so cavalierly discount the votes of Palm Beach residents, even calling them stupid or incompetent. It was Bush who first went to court and got lawyers involved in this. The recount could have been over and done with by now, had he not been so desperate.

C. JEAN COHEN

Westminster

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Re “Democrats Pin Hopes on ‘Voter Intent’ Ruling,” Nov. 20: The presidential election is at stake and the only thing the Democrats can come up with after two defeats is “voter intent.” How can an election be determined by “voter intent” and questionable ballots? If that is the case, I know for a fact there are many people who “intended” to vote and never made it to the polls. Should the intended votes that were never cast now be counted? Gore would probably be in favor of it.

TODD CURTIS

Simi Valley

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It did not take long to see how hollow Bush’s campaign pledges were. He claimed that Gore trusts the government and that he trusts the people. And yet, he appealed to the federal courts on grounds that Gore actually wanted people to count the ballots. He also claimed to be a uniter and not a divider. And yet, in pursuing this contemptible opposition to hand counts--clearly the most accurate means for determining the will of the electorate--he has assaulted the integrity of the thousands of ordinary Americans involved with the hand count.

Bush is not only a lightweight, he is an unprincipled lightweight. Perhaps the lesson that Americans can draw from this is that character and honor do not necessarily reside with those who bleat the loudest about character and honor.

PAUL RYAN

Arcadia

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Gore’s unwillingness to concede is an embarrassment to him, his family, his political party and our nation. I call on him to do the honorable thing. I call on my fellow countrymen to insist that he does. No aspect of this election belongs in the court system; what a farce!

CRISTINA WILLIAMS

El Cajon

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While politicians and lawyers bury Florida in verbal manure, while fanatics in both camps bombard each other with invective, the wonderful truth of American politics is unchanged. If the situation were reversed--Gore leading Bush by a few hundred votes--each side would be saying and doing exactly the same things the other side is saying and doing now.

HOWARD BENSEN

Woodland Hills

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The eventual president and his party need to remember that only one-quarter of the eligible voters voted for him.

MURRY I. ROZANSKY

Chatsworth

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What goes around does come around. Picture 1992 and Bill Clinton defeating George Bush. A third-party candidate, Ross Perot, played the crucial role then in causing Bush’s downfall. Now fast-forward to 2000, Gore and George W. Bush. A third-party candidate, Ralph Nader, plays the same spoiler role in Gore’s apparent defeat, this time elevating Bush the younger to the presidency. How ironic! How delightful! How sad!

CHARLES R. BARR

Upland

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Has everyone overlooked Nader’s unqualified success in this election? He accomplished exactly what he set out to do, which is take power away from both major parties.

LAR MARCUS

Claremont

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There are some countries around the world that are saying about our presidential election: If this is democracy at work, what is so great about it? We work by laws and our Constitution. We don’t see rioting in the streets; we don’t see shootings in the streets or civil war starting. But we do see orderly crowds gathering, voicing their objections in a civil manner.

Eventually the problem of who will be elected president will be solved, and the American people will accept it. If you want to see democracy at work, just watch us.

MAURICE MASLEN

Sherman Oaks

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If our ancestors could see us now, they’d probably wonder what all the fuss is about. In our country’s early years, it took months for everyone to know who was elected president.

MARILYN JENSEN

La Habra

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Cheer up, G.W. It always cheers me up when Robert Scheer is bitter, angry and petulant (Commentary, Nov. 21). It means that the country is on the right track.

WARREN RAABE

South Gate

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Is there any possibility that we can redo the entire election? I don’t want either of these bozos to be my president.

DAVID J. MECOZZI

Alta Loma