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Article: The Right Arena.(disputed election results in Florida bring a reminder of other close elections)(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- National Review
- Article date:
- December 18, 2000
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2000 National Review, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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In his short speech on November 26, hours after Florida certified him the winner of its electoral votes, George W. Bush quoted a line from Thomas Jefferson's first inaugural. Jefferson himself had been elected in a bitter and complex contest. Because electors did not then vote for a ticket but cast two independent votes, he and his running mate, Aaron Burr, happened to tie. The losing Federalists, thinking Burr was the better man, hoped to put him over the top. Since the House of Representatives was also deadlocked (eight states for Jefferson, six for Burr, and two evenly split), over 30 ballots were taken, without any movement. Finally James Bayard, the lone Federalist ...