It will be Gore's. Gore must be thinking that no moderate deed goes unpunished. The common success of those inherently contradictory arguments is the best measure of Gore's failure to articulate an overarching rationale for his candidacy. Nader offers a healthy outlet for outrage. But the votes he gets are not any party's votes.
Ballots are in the hands of voters, and thousands of people already have made their choices.
And heck, the theory doesn't even have to be all that plausible. Meanwhile, among partisans of the losing candidate, there is the consolation of finger pointing. That is not only because Governor Bush is opposed to serious change in the system. It is because of the appointments he is likely to make to the Supreme Court, which has the last word on whether and how campaign spending can be limited. The notoriously affable host did trip Gore up by talking about the vice president's cover photo for the latest issue of Rolling Stone.