Michael Kelly Mort Kondracke Ch. Gore lost and Bush won. But we have known that was going to happen for at least two weeks, when it became clear that the Republicans had the exits covered.
Nobody likes to admit defeat when they think it's an unfair result.
But even if you think you got a bad call in a basketball game, you still have to leave the court when the buzzer sounds. Gore reasoned differently and, as a result, was willing to polarize the electorate, tarnish America's reputation and undermine public confidence in the courts. A second presumption is that Gore believed such damage is an acceptable price because of the important differences between his agenda and George W. Bush's. OK, let's factor both of those suppositions into the equation. There's still a third variable that cannot be ignored.