November 3, 2004
Election Flashback: Family Pictures and Promised Votes
A BUZZFLASH NEWS ANALYSIS
From a reader:
Did you catch the news last night, when Peter Jennings and Dan Rather
were both surprised that President Bush provided a tape of himself in
the White House -- and said it was unprecedented for a sitting president
to appear before the nation when the polls were still open?
I watched it and had an instant flashback to 2000 and the Bush family
sitting there on my TV screen, assuring the nation that Florida belonged
to George W.
And then I remembered Hunter S. Thompson's reaction way back when --
before the Supreme Court issued its edict:
"There was one exact moment, in fact, when I knew for sure that Al Gore would Never be President of the United States, no matter what the experts were saying -- and that was when the whole Bush family suddenly appeared on TV and openly scoffed at the idea of Gore winning Florida. It was Nonsense, said the Candidate, Utter nonsense. Anybody who believed Bush had lost Florida was a Fool. The Media, all of them, were Liars & Dunces or treacherous whores trying to sabotage his victory.
They were strong words and people said he was Bluffing. But I knew better. Of course Bush would win Florida. Losing was out of the question. Here was the whole bloody Family laughing & hooting & sneering at the dumbness of the whole world on National TV. The old man was the real tip-off. The leer on his face was almost frightening. It was like looking into the eyes of a tall hyena with a living sheep in its mouth. The sheep's fate was sealed, and so was Al Gore's." -- “The Fix is In,” Nov. 27, 2000
I had the very same reaction last night.
I'm not surprised at all. But I'm none too happy at the moment.
I'm guessing you guys aren't either.
* * *
"Political insiders suggest Ohio could become as decisive this year as Florida was four years ago. Which is why the state's plan to use paperless touch-screen voting machines has so many up in arms. . . [Walden "Wally" O'Dell, the chairman of the board and chief executive of voting machine company Diebold] last fall penned a letter pledging his commitment ‘to helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes to the President'."
-- Mother Jones, March 3, 2003
A BUZZFLASH NEWS ANALYSIS