By
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON - Al Gore called yesterday for a speedy hand recount of thousands of questionable ballots in Florida's contested election, and urged Texas Gov. George Bush to drop his objections. "This is not a time for delay, obstruction and procedural roadblocks," the vice president said.
Gore, who has challenged Bush's victory certification in Florida, told reporters his proposal was necessary because the nation needs "to be able to say there is no legitimate question of who won this election."
Speaking outside the vice president's residence in Washington, Gore said he believed the recount he seeks of some 13,000 ballots could be completed in seven days "starting tomorrow morning," and all court proceedings could be finished "one or two days after that." That would allow time for the state's electors to be chosen and cast votes in the Electoral College, he said.
Gore's comments served to reinforce a filing in the state courts in which his lawyers asked Judge Judge N. Sanders Sauls for a court-appointed master to oversee the recounting of thousands of votes cast in Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties.
Gore said those ballots have not yet been counted, a claim at odds with Republican assertions. The Republicans say the votes were run through vote-counting machines twice and contain no valid votes for president.
Gore discussed his unprecedented election contest after a private lunch with Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers, widely expected to remain in the Cabinet if the vice president wins the White House.
Gore, grappling for ways to keep the public from accepting any final decision on who won, invited news cameras to capture a snippet of that luncheon meeting - the image of Gore confidently sounding out a potential Cabinet pick.
For the record, Gore disputed that notion, saying he only shared a meal and discussion of the economy with "a close friend and close adviser."
"I don't think it's right for me to be offering people jobs," he said.
Gore's remarks marked the second time in less than 24 hours he had gone before the public to appeal for patience while he challenges the vote certification in Florida, the state that stands to pick the next president.
"The American people," he said, "understand the importance of getting this election right."
Florida's top elections official, a partisan Bush supporter, certified Bush as the winner - by a mere 537 votes out of 6 million cast ñ but Gore is contesting the count in court.
Outreach to hold Democrats solidly behind him continued yesterday as campaign chairman Bill Daley, campaign manager Donna Brazile and political adviser Monica Dixon walked Democratic governors through Gore's legal strategy in a 30-minute conference call.
On Monday night, Gore made a brief, nationally televised plea for fairness, accuracy and patience.
"That is all we have asked since Election Day: a complete count of all the votes cast in Florida," Gore said. "Not recount after recount as some have charged, but a single, full and accurate count."
Gore has repeated those themes in the weeks since the election, and time is running out for him to sell his message. A new poll by CNN/USA Today/Gallup found that a growing number of Americans think the vice president should concede the election to George W. Bush - 56 percent, compared with 46 percent last week. The poll was taken after Florida officials declared Bush the winner there Sunday night, but before Gore's televised address. An ABC-Washington Post poll, taken in the same timeframe, found six in 10 saying Gore should concede.
"Every four years there is one day when the people have their say," Gore said as he stood before a dozen U.S. flags in the living room of the vice presidential residence. On the street outside, passing motorists honked at screaming supporters and protesters.
"In many ways the act of voting and having that vote counted is more important than who wins the majority of the votes that are cast," Gore said.
Gore and running mate Joseph Lieberman are challenging Florida's official results, which, if they hold, would give Bush the presidency.
"Our country will be stronger, not weaker, if our next president assumes office following a process that most Americans believe is fair," Gore said.
The court papers filed Monday in Tallahassee seek an order to hand count some 10,000 ballots in Miami-Dade County that did not register a vote for president when counted by machine. Gore alleged a hand recount was aborted there last week because of "organized intimidation." He asked the court to declare him the victor. Gore also contested results in Palm Beach and Nassau counties in hopes of overtaking Bush's 537-vote lead out of 6 million Florida votes cast.
