Unleashing the dogs of law

摘要

The disputed votes of a few Florida counties have become the centre of a life-and-death struggle for the presidency. George W. Bush and Al Gore have dug their heels in, producing irreconcilable arguments about what constitutes a fair vote, and rejecting all attempts at compromise. The dispute now heads for a showdown in the Florida courts, and in the court of public opinion. On Tuesday afternoon, one week after America's endless election night, Katherine Harris, Florida's secretary of state, announced that results from all 67 counties were in and that Mr Bush was ahead by 300 votes out of almost 6m cast. She said she was certifying this tally, pending results from an estimated 4,000 absentee ballots from abroad. No one knows what these will bring. But the Gore campaign expects Republican ballots from military personnel overseas to outweigh Democrats in Israel. If so, Mr Bush would get Florida's 25 electoral-college votes, giving him one more than the 270 required and making him the president-elect.