From: Gordon Mohr (gojomo@usa.net)
Date: Mon Nov 27 2000 - 19:22:20 PST
> I'm looking for a site that would have the full speech. Clues? I can't
> remember his first line, but it cracked me right the fuck up, and I want
> to find it.
CNN has it:
http://www.cnn.com/2000/ALLPOLITICS/stories/11/27/gore.transcript/index.html
# GORE: Good evening. Thank you for taking the time to listen tonight.
#
# Every four years there is one day when the people have their say. In
# many ways the act of voting and having that vote counted is more
# important than who wins the majority of the votes that are cast, because
# whoever wins, the victor will know that the American people have spoken
# with a voice made mighty by the whole of its integrity.
#
# On that one day every four years, the poor as well as the rich, the weak
# as well as the strong, women and men alike, citizens of every race,
# creed and color, of whatever infirmity or political temper, all are
# equal. They're equal, that is, so long as all of their votes are
# counted.
#
# A vote is not just a piece of paper, a vote is a human voice, a
# statement of human principle, and we must not let those voices be
# silenced.
#
# Not for today, not for tomorrow, not for as long as this nation's laws
# and democratic institutions let us stand and fight to let those voices
# count.
#
# If the people do not in the end choose me, so be it. The outcome will
# have been fair, and the people will have spoken. If they choose me, so
# be it. I would then commit and do commit to bringing this country
# together. But, whatever the outcome, let the people have their say, and
# let us listen.
#
# Ignoring votes means ignoring democracy itself. And if we ignore the
# votes of thousands in Florida in this election, how can you or any
# American have confidence that your vote will not be ignored in a future
# election?
#
# That is all we have asked since Election Day: a complete count of all
# the votes cast in Florida. Not recount after recount as some have
# charged, but a single, full and accurate count.
#
# We haven't had that yet. Great efforts have been made to prevent the
# counting of these votes. Lawsuit after lawsuit has been filed to delay
# the count and to stop the counting for many precious days between
# Election Day and the deadline for having the count finished.
#
# And this would be over long since, except for those efforts to block the
# process at every turn.
#
# In one county, election officials brought the count to a premature end
# in the face of organized intimidation. In a number of counties, votes
# that had been fairly counted were simply set aside. And many thousands
# of votes that were cast on Election Day have not yet been counted at
# all, not once.
#
# There are some who would have us bring this election to the fastest
# conclusion possible. I have a different view. I believe our Constitution
# matters more than convenience. So, as provided under Florida law, I have
# decided to contest this inaccurate and incomplete count, in order to
# ensure the greatest possible credibility for the outcome.
#
# I agree with something Governor Bush said last night. We need to come
# together as a country to make progress. But how can we best achieve
# that? Our country will be stronger, not weaker, if our next president
# assumes office following a process that most Americans believe is fair.
#
# In all our hands now rest the future of America's faith in our self-
# government. The American people have shown dignity, restraint and
# respect as the process has moved forward.
#
# This is America. When votes are cast, we count them. We don't
# arbitrarily set them aside because it's too difficult to count them.
#
# In the end, in one of God's unforeseen paths, this election may point us
# all to a new common ground, for its very closeness can serve to remind
# us that we are one people, with a shared history and a shared destiny.
#
# So this extraordinary moment should summon all of us to become what we
# profess to be: one indivisible nation. Let us pledge ourselves to the
# ideal that the people's will should be heard and heeded, and then,
# together, let us find what is best in ourselves and seek what is best
# for America.
#
# Two hundred years from now, when future Americans study this
# presidential election, let them learn that Americans did everything they
# could to ensure that all citizens who voted had their votes counted. Let
# them learn that democracy was ultimately placed ahead of partisan
# politics in resolving a contested election. Let them learn that we were
# indeed a country of laws.
#
# Thank you. God bless you, and God bless America.
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