The Painful Legacy of Al Gore

Today, we go to the polls. 

By all accounts, this election is expected to be a tight one, with around six states being critically important to George W. Bush and John F. Kerry. If you live in one of these states, your vote really counts.

If you are like most Americans, you already know who you are going to vote for. The election will not be won or lost based on convincing undecideds, but in turning out the people who already support a candidate.

The fault lines have been drawn, and there is great anxiety in the air. A good number of Americans worry that we will not know who the president-elect will be on Wednesday morning. If we do, it's possible that half of the nation will not accept it.

Gone are the days when voters can expect their presidential candidates to prepare two speeches: one to accept the office, and one to concede it. It is no longer certain that that we will hear the words "and I promise to work with the president elect..." on Tuesday night.

Now Americans are conditioned to believe that elections are stolen and illegitimate. Civil discourse has given way to angry demonstrations.

This is the legacy of Al Gore.

At around 3:00 AM on November 8th, 2000, Al Gore made a decision to challenge the outcome of the presidential election. He had already conceded it to then Governor Bush over the phone, as was on his way to give what was probably a very gracious concession speech to his country.

The election was a close one. There was room for dispute. Political power was on the line.

Others have faced this moment. By most accounts Richard Nixon could have challanged the 1960 election. Many New York City politicos felt that when he was running for mayor in 1989, Rudy Giuliani should have challenged his less-than-two-percent loss to David Dinkins.

But they didn't. They were statesmen. Without a historical example, they knew it would be bad for the nation, and that their personal political gain was not worth damaging the political process.

Yet the phone call of and aide convinced Al Gore not to give that speech, and he brought America into a grey area that we have yet to exit from.

With his choice, America was subjected to more than a month of recount battles that prevented the country from rallying behind a president. This choice has morphed into yet another cheap campaign tactic along the lines of negative television ads.

Now, campaigns lay the groundwork of recounts and challenges, planning organized efforts to discount the outcome of elections.

Many Americans, African-Americans in particular, feel that their votes will not be counted. Others feel that the registration lists are tampered with, and could lead to fraud on election day.

It is because of the decision that Al Gore made that night.

We are told over and over again that on Wednesday morning if we do not like the winner we should not believe in the election's outcome. This is a dangerous trend that must end now.

Al Gore's legacy must end tonight. The loser of the election, whomever it may be, has an opportunity to give the most important speech of our generation: a concession speech that unites us.

America must believe in the process again.

We must put the 2000 election behind us and on Wednesday, become Americans again.