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Peace at any cost is a Prelude to War!
Sense of Defeat Begins to Embrace Gore Team
By RICHARD L. BERKE
ALLAHASSEE, Fla., Dec. 4 — Several of Vice President Al Gore's legal
and political advisers and leading Democrats expressed little hope
tonight that the Florida Supreme Court would overturn a Leon County
Circuit Court ruling, leaving Mr. Gore with no more options in his
quest for the White House.
Many of these Democrats said that while they had braced themselves
for an adverse ruling from Judge N. Sanders Sauls, the decision was
more definitive — and dismissive — than they had imagined.
"I'm not overly confident," Edward G. Rendell, the general chairman
of the Democratic National Committee, said in an interview. "It would
be disingenuous to not say we would be in a better position had we
won in the court."
Asked about Mr. Gore's prospects, he said: "I don't want to quantify
it. Obviously this makes it more difficult, but not impossible."
While Mr. Gore's lawyers were described tonight as frantically
drafting a legal brief, one member of the team was even more doubtful
than Mr. Rendell.
"Downhill. Downhill. Downhill," he said of the vice president's
case. "We're like an automobile with the brakes that have been
disconnected. I'm not saying that this thing couldn't be turned
around, but this is not going to be easy, obviously."
One of Mr. Gore's top political aides put it this way: "People
expected we were going to lose with this judge. But it's one thing to
expect something — and another to actually experience it."
Many of the Democrats and Gore associates said the developments today
were the most crushing yet in a turbulent month since the election.
They said today would be a turning point, and no one was willing to
predict flatly that Mr. Gore would capture the presidency.
Beyond the circuit court ruling here, one Gore lawyer noted that the
Supreme Court's more equivocal ruling on a Republican appeal "was not
a wipeout" but was a troubling psychological setback because it added
to the uncertainty.
"The fact that both these decisions were rendered on the same day
creates a toxic public relations situation for Gore," he said.
Asked for Mr. Gore's options beyond the appeal, he added: "There's no
place else to go."
Far from the legal papers, an operative for Mr. Gore here in Florida
said, "It's the appeal or nothing."
William M. Daley, Mr. Gore's campaign chairman, did not dispute that
there were no options beyond the appeal. "Obviously, the clock is a
problem," he said.
Describing a conversation he had with Mr. Gore tonight, Mr. Daley
said, "He understands it was a blow, but he also knows that he's got
great lawyers."
Mr. Daley said he was not particularly worried that prominent
Democrats would object to the appeal because, no matter what, the
whole morass might be over in days.
But just to make sure, top campaign officials said they made rounds
of telephone calls on Capitol Hill, and urged the two Democratic
leaders, Senator Tom Daschle of South Dakota, and Representative
Richard A. Gephardt of Missouri, to hurriedly put out a statement of
support. Mr. Gore's running mate, Senator Joseph I. Lieberman of
Connecticut, was sent to meet with the caucus of Senate Democrats on
Tuesday.
Yet while many Democrats issued statements of support tonight, others
said in interviews that, realistically, the situation was far from
encouraging for Mr. Gore.
"If you and I had to bet that the oddsmaker said, `We're going to bet
your kids' tuition,' I'd bet Gore loses; he's done," said Senator
Joseph R. Biden Jr., a Delaware Democrat. "But I'm telling you, it
ain't over until the fat lady sings. And it ain't over until the
Florida Supreme Court acts on that appeal."
Senator John B. Breaux, a Louisiana Democrat, said of the court
ruling here: "It's a negative for Gore obviously — it's a big
negative. If the Florida Supreme Court agrees with the lower court,
then George Bush will probably be president."
But Mr. Breaux said the timeline is so short that Mr. Gore need not
worry about Democrats folding.
"I don't think he'll feel any more pressure," Mr. Breaux
said. "People know there's light at the end of the tunnel. And no one
would expect either side to give up after a trial-court decision."
Representative David E. Price, a North Carolina Democrat, said he was
patient — for a bit longer.
"The appeal has already been filed. I think we're bound to go one
more round," he said. "I don't doubt that there will be increasing
pressure to wrap this up. But what I've perceived in the last several
days is a good bit of exasperation among Democrats about the strategy
on the other side to simply run out the clock."
Echoing many others interviewed, Mr. Rendell, the Democratic
chairman, said he was especially distressed because it would be an
uphill struggle to reverse an opinion on appeal.
"Obviously," he said, "we would have liked to have won in the court
below: you are in a better posture on appeal." But he said he was
heartened that the Florida Supreme Court "understood the importance
of a hand count," then added, "That doesn't mean we're going to win."
While Gore campaign officials and workers have appeared to be
increasingly pessimistic in recent days, after the ruling tonight
some said they were almost resigned to losing but were determined to
see Mr. Gore though to the last appeal.
At Democratic Party headquarters in Washington, Gore workers gathered
around television to watch Judge Sauls deliver his verdict.
"There was just dead silence in the room," one official
said. "Obviously people are disappointed."
Mr. Gore, his aides said, was watching at his residence in
Washington. After the ruling, they said, he took part in a conference
call with his legal advisers.
In an interview earlier in the day, one top Gore aide predicted that
the judge would render a verdict "that could easily be split." Even
if that happened, he said it was "still threading the needle" for Mr.
Gore to reach the White House.
Tonight, the official sounded dejected and said, "Obviously, we're
not talking about keeping this alive much longer."
Another Gore official seemed almost shell-shocked by the ruling, and
accused the judge of "truly a scorched-earth opinion." He said of the
campaign's exhausted options: "We're facing the outer limits."
One of the few prominent Democrats who insisted that the events that
unfolded today were not so problematic for Mr. Gore was Senator
Charles E. Schumer of New York.
"There are two big arrows pointing at the Florida Supreme Court, one
from the bottom and one from the top, and it's in their hands," Mr.
Schumer said. "They have shown their ability to be independent in the
past."
Mark Fabiani, Mr. Gore's deputy campaign manager did not sound as
confident but offered a glimmer of hope for his boss.
"The worm has turned many times during these tumultuous weeks," he
said. "The question is: has the worm expired from exhaustion or does
he have one more turn left in him? We're about to find out in the
Florida Supreme Court."
Copyright 2000 The New York Times Company
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