Sign in Subscribe
Bush, George W.

The Florida Fiasco: A Constitutional Crisis or Just a Side Show?

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

The 2000 US presidential election has come to a head in Florida, with both Al Gore and George W. Bush locked in a bitter contest over the state's electoral votes. The media frenzy surrounding the election has painted a picture of a nation torn apart by partisan divisions, but in reality, the mood in the country is one of collective shrug. Despite the apocalyptic warnings from pundits, the voters' focus is on the outcome of the game, not the historic significance of the event. As one New York voter told The Washington Post, the election has become "better than the Subway Series," with the post-election drama playing out like a post-season sports competition.

Key Takeaways:

  • The 2000 election was the most boring presidential election in history, with voter turnout at 50% and 48% of voters deeming the race "boring."
  • The election has united the country in one bipartisan belief: neither Gore nor Bush deserves to be president.
  • The candidates' behavior has ratified the voters' judgment that neither man is deserving of a mandate or capable of rising above their limitations.
  • Both Gore and Bush have only continued to divide the country with their respective positions, rather than targeting actual policy issues.
  • The media has created a false narrative of a national crisis, when in fact the country is more interested in the outcome of the game than the partisan bickering.
  • The actual partisan crisis is not between the Blue and Gray, but between two prescription-drug plans.
  • The real civic crisis to emerge from Decision 2000 is the erroneous manipulation of the public by false and premature predictions on Election Night.

Statistics:

  • Voter turnout was at 50% (Vanishing Voter measure of "voter involvement").
  • 48% of voters deemed the election "boring" (Harvard's Vanishing Voter measure, as of Election Eve).
  • 63% jump in TV audience from four years ago, with the election returns outnumbering the audience for the final episode of "Survivor."
  • 73% of voters saw an increase in "voter involvement" (Vanishing Voter index, post-Election Night).
  • 17% of voters declared themselves bored, as of post-Election Night (Vanishing Voter index).

Sources:

  • ABC's Cokie Roberts (Sunday, quoted).
  • David Broder, as the Dean of D.C. (The Washington Post).
  • Curtis Gans (quoted, election expert).
  • The Washington Post (quoted, New York voter).
  • The New Yorker (Jane Mayer, source on the engineered call by Fox News).
  • Billy Tauzin, Republican from Louisiana, calling for Congressional hearings on network behavior.
  • Charles Van Doren (starred in the game-show investigations of the 50's).
  • NBC's Tim Russert (quoted).
  • The Wall Street Journal (labeled the attempted Democratic coup d'etat).

Read more