Ok, someone help me understand this. How on earth does a country that SUPPOSEDLY champions democracy (an idea in which power belongs to the people, and each persons vote is as valued as the next) have an election where the most votes went to candidate #1, and yet candidate #2 is declared the “winner”? Yes yes yes… I understand the electoral college system, but the system destroys a fundamental pillar of democracy… each persons vote is as valued as the next.
George W. Bush was handed the election because even though more Americans voted for Al Gore… those people didn’t live in the right state. The people who did vote for George W. Bush had their votes count for more, and thus Bush is president. Democracy failed. (UPDATE: I think the better way to word that is “DEMOCRACY WAS FAILED”)
However… even in the Electoral College system, it is debatable that Bush won the election… a debate that ended with the Supreme Court ruling that Bush won the state of Florida, thus winning it’s electoral college votes, thus giving him the White House. The Circus in Florida (no matter which side of the political spectrum you sit on) was a joke, and now it looks like a movie is being made about it. The good folk over at M&C give us this:
Sydney Pollack will direct ‘Recount,’ a film for HBO based on the chaotic presidential vote count in Florida in 2000. ‘Recount’ is an account of the aftermath of the 2000 election that explores the lives of people caught up in the turmoil of the Florida vote recount, The Hollywood Reporter said. The issue ultimately went to the U.S. Supreme Court, which issued a ruling that gave the Florida election — and the presidency — to George W. Bush.
I think something like this would be fascinating to see, even if Bush did indeed win Florida. The issue isn’t “Should Bush have won”, but rather “How on earth did that whole mess explode? Why was the state not properly prepared for the election and the possible outcomes. Why were proper procedures in place to accurately count votes and policies for what counted as a vote?” After all, if Bush did cleanly win Florida… that mess COULD have cost him the election. I’m anxious to see this.
