But even former Secretary of State James Baker, Bush's man in Tallahassee, makes it clear that Gore still has a pulse. Baker is asked. This is a stay. Justice Antonin Scalia issued an unusual concurrent argument basically saying Bush should remain hopeful. Even though Gore and his team had hoped that this hand recount would prove their fervent belief that Gore actually won Florida, it's quite possible that a tabulation of the undervotes would have ratcheted up the figures for Bush, increasing his lead from the 158-vote landslide he now enjoys, thanks to the Florida Supreme Court.
Every single number seems to be in dispute.
Additionally, Bush's people contend, the official Palm Beach number is 168, not 215. All of these numbers are of ephemeral importance anyway, since the statewide total of undervotes is more than 43,000. And more importantly, on Monday the U.S. Supreme Court could very well vacate Tallahassee of its legions of lawyers, pols and reporters with one swift stroke of its pen. Other numbers are declared potentially illegal. Gov. Marc Racicot of Montana slams the Gore team for violating Lewis' court order by announcing their supposed 58-vote net gain, which Gore attorneys David Boies and Ron Klain both did.