Wow…I wonder how well-documented that is?!? If it is for real, it is downright scary! After all, while some in the Gore camp have been playing up the whole popular vote thing a bit to at least buy them the time to have recounts and possibly consider voting irregularities, I think they (Gore himself in particular) has been pretty clear on the point that under the Constitution it is the electoral vote that decides the election and that is what must be respected.
At any rate, I agree with Spiritus that the statements made from the Gore camp are somewhat ambiguous. And, hell, at this point, they are probably still trying to figure out what they think they want to do. I think they want to keep their options open to be involved in the lawsuits if they think the irregularities warrant them or to back down and accept a recount if they think the case for the irregularities is too weak (or whatever other factors…like public opinion…that might come into the equation).
In the interests of toning down the rhetoric a bit, I would like to back off a bit on this statement of mine after reading the article in its entirety. The idea was to have this popular appeal try to influence the electoral college…still not the loveliest idea in the world…but not as bad as it sounded at first. In the interests of fairness, I should also note that at the end of the article, they quote a Gore campaign official in response saying
They both played the game of getting electoral votes.
It appears (unless something changes), Bush played it slightly better.
To address the OP:
Right now, we can’t say “if the tables were turned”, because officially they haven’t “turned” any way yet. The vote recount posted on CNN and elsewhere is an informal contact by the AP to individual precincts. Florida has released a recount with numbers which don’t include Palm Beach and absentee votes. Not to mention other recounts elsewhere.
Either side is stupid for doing anything except talking before the official vote counts are in next Friday. After then, I don’t expect the main candidate to directly challenge the results. Gore (or Bush) will gracefully step aside. I expect the party faithful to chime in, however. Electors will be electored, and presidents will be presidented, but there will be plenty of lawsuits. For months, if not years.
Elections will look a lot different from now on. Probably no 40 year old counting machines. Probably some uniform regulations on how ballots look. Maybe no electoral college – something I’ve heard Arlen Spector ® and Hillary Clinton (D) chime in about in the past days.
I think congressional elections in 2002 will reflect how this election turns out. If Gore wins, expect a bigger Republican majority in Congress then. If Bush wins, expect a Democratic shift.
The only thing clear from this election so far is that the American people are not sending the message that the elections appear likely to deliver : Republican Congress and Republican White House.