While Bush is eager to consider Democrats for cabinet posts, approaching them would have been awkward while the election battle was still raging. Bush's olive-branch effort to diversify the cabinet politically also faces some hurdles. After their 8-year exile from the White House, Republicans may be loath to give up many slots. Bush is building a ranchhouse on 16-hundred acres just outside of the town of Crawford in the center of the state. It will be the only residence in Texas for Bush, his wife Laura and their twin teenage daughters and is likely to generate a lot of attention.
Folks there say they are already getting used to the idea of mobs of reporters and satellite trucks.
Listen as NPR's John Burnett reports on All Things Considered . Gore's concession speech won overwhelming kudos for its graciousness. Indeed, a Washington Post word search found the term used 173 times in reference to the seven-minute address Wednesday. Some say it was, ironically, the high point of a campaign that could pave the way for another run four years from now. Others believe Gore's defeat and his bare-knuckles recount battle delivered the coup de grace to his White House aspirations.