Columnists

When Al Gore rose above

Any Republican leaders who are considering denouncing Donald Trump's insidious and dangerous claim that the election is rigged and need a final push might want to take counsel from an unlikely source: Al Gore. All they would have to do is read the first couple of paragraphs from his 2000 concession speech delivered not on election night but more than a month later on Dec. 13 after the closest presidential election in our nation's history. His words are worth remembering today because he was under a lot of pressure not to deliver them.

For those who have forgotten or never knew, the 2000 election was ultimately decided by the Supreme Court when it stopped the recount of votes in Florida. Throughout this long and tortured process, Gore heard from people who said the election was rigged. His opponent's brother, Jeb Bush, was governor of Florida and integral to the politics around the recount.

The dissent in the pivotal Supreme Court decision also offered fodder for casting doubt on the election's legitimacy. When the court stopped the Florida recount, its objectors wrote, "Preventing the recount from being completed will inevitably cast a cloud on the legitimacy of the election."

Throughout this ordeal Gore had resisted many entreaties to raise doubts about the legitimacy of the election. Some may think that was an easy decision, and perhaps for Gore it was, given his deep respect for the law and constitutional process. But he also had the passions of his supporters to contend with, many of whom felt cheated, and saw the 2000 election as yet another example of voter suppression. They urged him to fight on, especially in those frantic hours when the Supreme Court had made its final ruling and all eyes were trained on Gore to see what he might do or say.

This is what Gore said when the nation looked to him for a signal of whether our democracy was legitimate:

"Over the library of one of our great law schools is inscribed the motto: 'Not under man, but under God and law.' That's the ruling principle of American freedom, the source of our democratic liberties. I've tried to make it my guide throughout this contest, as it has guided America's deliberations of all the complex issues of the past five weeks. Now the U.S. Supreme Court has spoken. Let there be no doubt, while I strongly disagree with the court's decision, I accept it. I accept the finality of this outcome, which will be ratified next Monday in the electoral college. And tonight, for the sake of our unity as a people and the strength of our democracy, I offer my concession. I also accept my responsibility, which I will discharge unconditionally, to honor the new president-elect and do everything possible to help him bring Americans together in fulfillment of the great vision that our Declaration of Independence defines and that our Constitution affirms and defends."

Gore set the standard in 2000 for graciously abiding by the results of an election when he had every excuse not to. His example is an especially bright beacon today. We can only hope that Republicans wiser than Donald Trump choose to let it guide them.

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Carter Eskew, partner of the Glover Park Group, was chief strategist in Al Gore's 2000 presidential campaign.

Editorial on 10/20/2016

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