Analysis: Harris Caved

Yesterday, Leon County Circuit Court Judge Lewis ordered her to consider vote tallies that come in after the Tuesday deadline, which may change the 300-vote margin.

Secretary Harris has agreed to do so but is requiring any counties doing that to explain by 2 p.m. Wednesday why any changes will be coming in late.

The only two counties in which the vote tallies will change are Palm Beach County and Broward County, where hand counts are under way this moment.

Miami-Dade County last evening abandoned its hand count, and in Broward the Gore campaign is suing to force it to resume its abandoned hand count.

If Gore picks up more than 300 votes, look for Gore to declare victory; Secretary of State Harris then has the option of disallowing the new tally.

Harris' uneasiness with that has led her this morning to ask the Florida Supreme Court to tell her what to do in this regard – very bad news for Bush, since the Florida State Supreme Court is overwhelmingly liberal Democrat in its makeup.

All justices were chosen by Democrat Governors.

Her request indicates a lack of resolve in the face of brutal attacks by Gore's tv spinners, which includes professional ambulance chaser Alan Dershowitz calling her last night on CNN "a crook."

Let's be crystal clear: Harris caved.

We are now, on the Gore side, into a no-holds-barred "Sue for Victory" scenario which may force Team Bush to sue to force hand recounts in Republican counties such as Duval, where Bush would pick up substantial gains, should Gore's unfairly chosen hand counts be added to the vote tally.

Equitable principles would demand this remedy, since the Leon County judge wiped out the very concept of a "deadline" and since Gore chose his counties in which to hand count not because of any mechanical problem, as required by the statute, but just because he wanted to. Talk about "arbitrary."

There is hovering like a cloud, of course, the unknown absentee ballot totals, many possibly from Israel, which must be in by Friday. They may give Gore "victory." At least for the moment.