1 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:07,000 Downloaded from YTS.MX 2 00:00:07,208 --> 00:00:10,125 In 2016 we faced an attack of a new kind. 3 00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:13,000 Official YIFY movies site: YTS.MX 4 00:00:10,875 --> 00:00:12,834 The Russians hacked democracy. 5 00:00:14,250 --> 00:00:15,917 The Russian interference only worked 6 00:00:16,000 --> 00:00:17,709 because America was a vulnerable target. 7 00:00:19,083 --> 00:00:20,250 In the alleged collusion... 8 00:00:20,542 --> 00:00:23,834 These allegations are just absolutely preposterous. 9 00:00:24,083 --> 00:00:26,750 Of course Russians preferred Trump because Trump said 10 00:00:26,834 --> 00:00:27,834 that he preferred Russians. 11 00:00:58,333 --> 00:01:02,166 - Mr. Speaker, the president of the United States. 12 00:01:02,250 --> 00:01:04,000 - Oh, yeah! 13 00:01:07,500 --> 00:01:10,792 - My fellow Americans, we are fortunate to be alive 14 00:01:10,875 --> 00:01:12,875 at this moment in history. 15 00:01:16,000 --> 00:01:17,542 - Whoo! 16 00:01:17,625 --> 00:01:21,375 - Never before has our nation enjoyed so much prosperity, 17 00:01:21,458 --> 00:01:23,875 the fastest economic growth in more than 30 years 18 00:01:24,000 --> 00:01:25,917 and over 20 million new jobs, 19 00:01:26,000 --> 00:01:29,208 the first back-to-back surpluses in 42 years... 20 00:01:29,291 --> 00:01:30,417 - You've got mail. 21 00:01:30,500 --> 00:01:31,417 - And next month, 22 00:01:31,500 --> 00:01:34,250 America will achieve the longest period 23 00:01:34,333 --> 00:01:38,083 of economic growth in our entire history. 24 00:01:43,834 --> 00:01:46,125 - From the record-breaking stock market 25 00:01:46,208 --> 00:01:48,667 to the best job market in a generation, 26 00:01:48,750 --> 00:01:51,291 the U.S. economy continues to defy 27 00:01:51,375 --> 00:01:53,542 even the optimist's expectations. 28 00:01:53,625 --> 00:01:55,750 Al Gore and his advisers are hoping 29 00:01:55,834 --> 00:01:57,750 that focusing on the booming economy 30 00:01:57,834 --> 00:01:59,917 will put his campaign on firm ground. 31 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:02,917 - He's the most qualified person in my lifetime 32 00:02:03,000 --> 00:02:04,792 to seek this job. 33 00:02:06,041 --> 00:02:07,542 - You're pitted against Al Gore now. 34 00:02:07,625 --> 00:02:09,458 You used to be way ahead of him, 35 00:02:09,542 --> 00:02:10,750 and now it's neck and neck. 36 00:02:10,834 --> 00:02:12,792 Does that mean that the more people see you, Governor, 37 00:02:12,875 --> 00:02:14,166 the less they like you? 38 00:02:15,291 --> 00:02:16,959 - The stage is set for Bill Clinton 39 00:02:17,041 --> 00:02:18,709 to hand off the baton to Al Gore 40 00:02:18,792 --> 00:02:21,458 and lead that roaring economy into the 21st century. 41 00:02:21,542 --> 00:02:23,375 - I know my own imperfections. 42 00:02:23,458 --> 00:02:26,000 Sometimes people say I'm too serious, 43 00:02:26,083 --> 00:02:28,333 that I talk too much substance and policy. 44 00:02:28,417 --> 00:02:29,667 - I was apprehended 45 00:02:29,750 --> 00:02:32,291 in Kennebunkport, Maine, for a DUI. 46 00:02:32,375 --> 00:02:33,709 - You're now in the final stretch 47 00:02:33,792 --> 00:02:35,166 of this race for president, 48 00:02:35,250 --> 00:02:38,583 what could be the closest contest in 40 years. 49 00:02:38,667 --> 00:02:41,291 - Whoever wins Florida wins the presidency. 50 00:02:41,375 --> 00:02:44,291 - Critical will be Florida's 12% Hispanic population. 51 00:02:44,375 --> 00:02:46,667 - I think wherever the Hispanic vote goes, 52 00:02:46,750 --> 00:02:49,834 that is where the state of Florida will go. 53 00:02:49,917 --> 00:02:52,166 - This state is going to be crucial 54 00:02:52,250 --> 00:02:55,458 in the election of 2000. 55 00:03:12,000 --> 00:03:13,834 - Miami, which had been, famously, 56 00:03:13,917 --> 00:03:17,625 a cultural wasteland in the '70s and '80s, 57 00:03:17,709 --> 00:03:20,625 began to emerge as a hot, happening place. 58 00:03:20,709 --> 00:03:23,500 South Beach began to emerge as a place 59 00:03:23,583 --> 00:03:25,959 for beautiful models 60 00:03:26,041 --> 00:03:28,000 and people who wanted to hang out 61 00:03:28,083 --> 00:03:30,375 with beautiful models. 62 00:03:30,458 --> 00:03:34,333 But Miami would be a pleasant backwater 63 00:03:34,417 --> 00:03:37,166 if it were not for the Cubans who came here. 64 00:03:40,291 --> 00:03:43,166 The Cubans provide, really, 65 00:03:43,250 --> 00:03:46,291 the heartbeat of the city. 66 00:03:46,375 --> 00:03:47,375 - There's two Cubas. 67 00:03:47,458 --> 00:03:48,959 There's the island, 68 00:03:49,041 --> 00:03:53,000 and then there's the peninsula of South Florida. 69 00:03:54,500 --> 00:04:00,000 - The '90s was when the Cubans really coalesced their power 70 00:04:00,083 --> 00:04:01,917 in South Florida. 71 00:04:02,000 --> 00:04:05,375 - Coming into 2000, of its 2.3 million residents, 72 00:04:05,458 --> 00:04:07,750 Cubans were the majority minority group 73 00:04:07,834 --> 00:04:10,875 that outnumbered Anglos by 200,000 votes 74 00:04:11,000 --> 00:04:14,750 and even Black residents by 220,000 votes. 75 00:04:14,834 --> 00:04:17,250 - At one point, 76 00:04:17,333 --> 00:04:22,417 every single lever of power in Miami 77 00:04:22,500 --> 00:04:26,250 is controlled by a Cuban American. 78 00:04:26,333 --> 00:04:27,417 - Think about that for a minute. 79 00:04:27,500 --> 00:04:29,375 A major American city 80 00:04:29,458 --> 00:04:33,083 and the entire city council of most cities 81 00:04:33,166 --> 00:04:35,041 were Cuban Americans. 82 00:04:35,125 --> 00:04:38,625 And every single mayor was a Cuban American. 83 00:04:38,709 --> 00:04:40,083 That's nuts. 84 00:04:40,166 --> 00:04:41,083 - And I'll tell you, 85 00:04:41,166 --> 00:04:43,792 it's a pleasure to stand on this stage today 86 00:04:43,875 --> 00:04:46,917 and see all of the communities and all of the faces 87 00:04:47,000 --> 00:04:49,375 that make Miami one of the greatest cities 88 00:04:49,458 --> 00:04:51,083 in the entire world. 89 00:04:51,166 --> 00:04:53,834 Here, as in the Hispanic community, 90 00:04:53,917 --> 00:04:57,000 words like "familia," "comunidad," "educación," 91 00:04:57,083 --> 00:05:01,125 "patria," y "Dios" are not just palabras. 92 00:05:01,208 --> 00:05:05,667 They're values and virtues that guide everyday life. 93 00:05:05,750 --> 00:05:07,291 And there's nobody who understands 94 00:05:07,375 --> 00:05:11,750 the meaning of those words more than my friend Alex Penelas. 95 00:05:18,875 --> 00:05:20,792 - Miami-Dade County mayor Alex Penelas 96 00:05:20,875 --> 00:05:24,750 is "People" magazine's choice for sexiest politician. 97 00:05:26,041 --> 00:05:27,667 - In his nine years in politics, 98 00:05:27,750 --> 00:05:29,625 he has become adept at responding 99 00:05:29,709 --> 00:05:31,166 to what voters want. 100 00:05:31,250 --> 00:05:33,125 The child of immigrants works hard, 101 00:05:33,208 --> 00:05:34,291 plays by the rules, 102 00:05:34,375 --> 00:05:36,959 and ends up at the top of the political ladder. 103 00:05:37,041 --> 00:05:40,041 - Alex Penelas was the boy mayor. 104 00:05:40,125 --> 00:05:42,000 - Never lacking for self-confidence, 105 00:05:42,083 --> 00:05:44,417 Alex Penelas has propelled himself to the center 106 00:05:44,500 --> 00:05:46,542 of South Florida's political stage. 107 00:05:46,625 --> 00:05:49,375 - Alex Penelas was one of the most exciting politicians 108 00:05:49,458 --> 00:05:52,041 in the history of Miami. 109 00:05:52,125 --> 00:05:55,542 - He was hanging with Bill Clinton and Al Gore. 110 00:05:55,625 --> 00:05:57,500 I thought he was kind of cool. 111 00:05:57,583 --> 00:05:59,667 - I'm young, and I think that's exactly 112 00:05:59,750 --> 00:06:01,542 what the people of this community wanted. 113 00:06:01,625 --> 00:06:04,000 - One of the incredible things that Alex pulled off 114 00:06:04,083 --> 00:06:06,667 is, he realized how to be a Democrat and how to live 115 00:06:06,750 --> 00:06:09,458 in the traditional Cuban American world. 116 00:06:09,542 --> 00:06:11,959 And he could navigate both of those simultaneously, 117 00:06:12,041 --> 00:06:13,834 and nobody had ever done that before. 118 00:06:13,917 --> 00:06:15,500 - I, Alex Penelas... 119 00:06:15,583 --> 00:06:19,542 - At just 34, Penelas has been elected to the new job 120 00:06:19,625 --> 00:06:21,917 of executive mayor of Dade County. 121 00:06:22,000 --> 00:06:25,500 - Alex Penelas was the great Cuban hope. 122 00:06:25,583 --> 00:06:29,000 This was the tipping point at which Cuban Americans 123 00:06:29,083 --> 00:06:33,583 became the dominant political force in Miami. 124 00:06:33,667 --> 00:06:35,375 - With 2 million constituents, 125 00:06:35,458 --> 00:06:38,875 he is Florida's second-most powerful politician 126 00:06:38,959 --> 00:06:41,500 after the governor and, some say, 127 00:06:41,583 --> 00:06:45,083 the most influential Hispanic politician in America. 128 00:06:45,166 --> 00:06:48,917 - He was more dynamic and had more promise 129 00:06:49,000 --> 00:06:51,875 than Marco Rubio ever could've. 130 00:06:51,959 --> 00:06:53,542 And as "People" magazine pointed out, 131 00:06:53,625 --> 00:06:54,542 he was also far better-looking. 132 00:06:58,208 --> 00:07:00,291 - There was a lot of momentum behind him, 133 00:07:00,375 --> 00:07:02,375 and there started to become this chatter. 134 00:07:02,458 --> 00:07:04,250 I could really see him as a cabinet secretary. 135 00:07:04,333 --> 00:07:05,959 I could see him as a U.S. senator. 136 00:07:06,041 --> 00:07:08,083 - And much like a farmer... 137 00:07:08,166 --> 00:07:09,959 - There were mentions that Penelas was going 138 00:07:10,041 --> 00:07:14,625 to possibly be Al Gore's running mate in 2000. 139 00:07:14,709 --> 00:07:16,291 - Alex had all the promise in the world. 140 00:07:16,375 --> 00:07:18,375 You know, the sky was the limit for him. 141 00:07:21,000 --> 00:07:22,583 - What can change that? 142 00:07:25,125 --> 00:07:26,375 - And from the ocean waters 143 00:07:26,458 --> 00:07:28,375 off the coast of Florida tonight, 144 00:07:28,458 --> 00:07:30,792 a real-life Thanksgiving story to tell you about. 145 00:07:30,875 --> 00:07:32,250 - About 6:40 this morning, 146 00:07:32,333 --> 00:07:34,792 a five-year-old child came ashore 147 00:07:34,875 --> 00:07:36,583 on a small inner tube. 148 00:07:39,500 --> 00:07:42,375 - His mother, stepfather, and other refugees drowned 149 00:07:42,458 --> 00:07:45,583 trying to reach the U.S. illegally. 150 00:07:45,667 --> 00:07:48,000 - In Miami, family members knew relatives 151 00:07:48,083 --> 00:07:49,500 were making the crossing. 152 00:07:49,583 --> 00:07:51,500 They had heard a boat capsized, 153 00:07:51,583 --> 00:07:53,917 and they feared all were dead. 154 00:07:54,000 --> 00:07:59,291 - When Elián González is found Thanksgiving 1999 155 00:07:59,375 --> 00:08:00,834 bobbing offshore-- 156 00:08:00,917 --> 00:08:05,417 this extraordinary image of a five-year-old child 157 00:08:05,500 --> 00:08:08,583 found by the two fisherman. 158 00:08:08,667 --> 00:08:13,000 This child survived this horrific tragedy. 159 00:08:13,083 --> 00:08:14,625 - Cubans are very Catholic. 160 00:08:14,709 --> 00:08:19,792 Story of Saint Lazarus, story of the Virgin Mary, 161 00:08:19,875 --> 00:08:23,333 and the story of somebody being lost at sea, 162 00:08:23,417 --> 00:08:26,417 la Virgen de la Caridad, as Cubans call her, 163 00:08:26,500 --> 00:08:28,667 which is the story of the guy 164 00:08:28,750 --> 00:08:31,500 who doesn't think he's gonna survive in the ocean, 165 00:08:31,583 --> 00:08:35,458 and he looks up and he prays to the Virgin of Charity... 166 00:08:38,417 --> 00:08:40,583 And says, "Please spare my life." 167 00:08:40,667 --> 00:08:43,834 And that's the story that Cubans saw 168 00:08:43,917 --> 00:08:47,667 with Elián González. 169 00:08:47,750 --> 00:08:49,959 - Everything became very biblical, 170 00:08:50,041 --> 00:08:51,709 very mythological. 171 00:08:51,792 --> 00:08:55,667 Nothing to do with the actual reality of the situation. 172 00:08:55,750 --> 00:08:58,250 - Elián González in Miami today, 173 00:08:58,333 --> 00:09:00,125 the five-year-old at the center 174 00:09:00,208 --> 00:09:02,500 of an international tug-of-war. 175 00:09:02,583 --> 00:09:05,709 On one side, his father in communist Cuba 176 00:09:05,792 --> 00:09:09,208 today demanding his son be returned home. 177 00:09:09,291 --> 00:09:11,834 - For most Americans, 178 00:09:11,917 --> 00:09:17,000 when there's one willing parent who is competent 179 00:09:17,083 --> 00:09:20,041 of looking after the child, it's a no-brainer. 180 00:09:20,125 --> 00:09:23,208 - Every non-Cuban person in the United States 181 00:09:23,291 --> 00:09:26,083 thought Elián González should be returned to Cuba. 182 00:09:26,166 --> 00:09:29,667 - On the other side, his extended family in Miami, 183 00:09:29,750 --> 00:09:32,083 relatives he had never met before, 184 00:09:32,166 --> 00:09:34,834 exiles who came here in search of freedom 185 00:09:34,917 --> 00:09:38,750 saying Elián now belongs in the United States. 186 00:09:38,834 --> 00:09:42,542 - Every Cuban in Miami thought that he should stay 187 00:09:42,625 --> 00:09:44,125 with his relatives here in Miami 188 00:09:44,208 --> 00:09:47,041 because that was his mother's intent. 189 00:09:47,125 --> 00:09:50,583 And she died trying to do that, so let's honor her intent. 190 00:09:50,667 --> 00:09:54,250 - If Elián González was from Long Island, 191 00:09:54,333 --> 00:09:59,291 then he should be returned to his father, but he wasn't. 192 00:09:59,375 --> 00:10:01,750 - This is strictly a pissing contest. 193 00:10:01,834 --> 00:10:03,208 Who's gonna get the brownie points? 194 00:10:03,291 --> 00:10:04,917 Is it gonna be Fidel, God forbid, 195 00:10:05,000 --> 00:10:06,667 or is it gonna be the crazy people in this town? 196 00:10:06,750 --> 00:10:08,750 It hasn't got anything to do 197 00:10:08,834 --> 00:10:10,625 with this poor little six-year-old kid. 198 00:10:10,709 --> 00:10:12,542 He's like the wishbone at Thanksgiving. 199 00:10:12,625 --> 00:10:14,917 We got Fidel and his crazy people on the one side 200 00:10:15,000 --> 00:10:16,625 pulling one leg in one direction, 201 00:10:16,709 --> 00:10:18,125 and we got the crazy people in this town 202 00:10:18,208 --> 00:10:19,333 pulling on the other. 203 00:10:19,417 --> 00:10:20,917 - The disparity in public opinion 204 00:10:21,000 --> 00:10:22,417 yielded some brutal satire 205 00:10:22,500 --> 00:10:24,417 on shows like "Saturday Night Live," 206 00:10:24,500 --> 00:10:25,417 "The Daily Show." 207 00:10:25,500 --> 00:10:27,625 all: 208 00:10:40,709 --> 00:10:43,083 announcer: "Elián: The Cuban Boy!" 209 00:10:43,166 --> 00:10:45,959 - All I'll say about Elián is, thank God he's Cuban. 210 00:10:46,041 --> 00:10:47,250 'Cause if he was Haitian, 211 00:10:47,333 --> 00:10:48,667 you would've never heard about his ass. 212 00:10:50,750 --> 00:10:53,125 Mm-mm. 213 00:10:53,208 --> 00:10:58,250 If Elián González was Elián Lemumbo from Haiti, 214 00:10:58,333 --> 00:10:59,792 they'd have pushed that little rubber tube 215 00:10:59,875 --> 00:11:00,792 right back in the water. 216 00:11:00,875 --> 00:11:03,291 "Sorry, fella. All full. 217 00:11:03,375 --> 00:11:05,500 Good luck." 218 00:11:05,583 --> 00:11:09,542 - Cuba demands return of six-year-old refugee. 219 00:11:09,625 --> 00:11:13,125 Yankees refuse to let him out of the contract. 220 00:11:13,208 --> 00:11:15,834 - A visibly angry President Fidel Castro 221 00:11:15,917 --> 00:11:17,583 accused the United States government 222 00:11:17,667 --> 00:11:20,667 of kidnapping five-year-old Elián González 223 00:11:20,750 --> 00:11:23,792 and demanded his return within 72 hours. 224 00:11:28,041 --> 00:11:30,667 - He says particularly offensive to the Cuban people, 225 00:11:30,750 --> 00:11:34,000 Elián's trip to Disney World and then Universal Studios. 226 00:11:34,083 --> 00:11:35,834 - Elián showed some lingering signs 227 00:11:35,917 --> 00:11:38,458 of his Thanksgiving ordeal and rescue at sea 228 00:11:38,542 --> 00:11:41,333 when he went on the It's A Small World water ride. 229 00:11:41,417 --> 00:11:42,792 - He was a little bit frightened 230 00:11:42,875 --> 00:11:44,458 at one time with the boat, 231 00:11:44,542 --> 00:11:47,208 and he asked the question, "Is this boat going to sink?" 232 00:11:47,291 --> 00:11:49,333 - Family spokesman Armando Gutierrez 233 00:11:49,417 --> 00:11:51,542 says Elián eventually relaxed, 234 00:11:51,625 --> 00:11:55,792 and afterwards he gave the boy a coin to toss in the water. 235 00:11:55,875 --> 00:11:58,750 - Armando Gutierrez showed up on the scene. 236 00:11:58,834 --> 00:12:01,583 He said, "Oh, I saw this on the news, 237 00:12:01,667 --> 00:12:03,583 "the child in the sea, 238 00:12:03,667 --> 00:12:06,917 "and I knew right away this was a situation 239 00:12:07,000 --> 00:12:09,375 that begged for my intervention." 240 00:12:09,458 --> 00:12:13,208 Armando Gutierrez is a kingmaker. 241 00:12:13,291 --> 00:12:17,583 You could think of him maybe as part Karl Rove, 242 00:12:17,667 --> 00:12:19,166 part Lee Atwater 243 00:12:19,250 --> 00:12:22,000 with a kind of Desi Arnaz sense of humor. 244 00:12:29,000 --> 00:12:30,667 - They don't even want to discuss it with Elián. 245 00:12:30,750 --> 00:12:33,291 This is typical, you know, propaganda, 246 00:12:33,375 --> 00:12:35,583 the Cuban government diverting attention 247 00:12:35,667 --> 00:12:37,750 from a serious disaster. 248 00:12:37,834 --> 00:12:42,709 - His main job was advising judicial candidates, 249 00:12:42,792 --> 00:12:44,125 which really meant 250 00:12:44,208 --> 00:12:47,750 that he would scare other judicial candidates. 251 00:12:47,834 --> 00:12:50,125 - In Florida, judges have to run for office, 252 00:12:50,208 --> 00:12:51,917 so there's this whole electoral industry 253 00:12:52,000 --> 00:12:53,542 around judicial campaigns. 254 00:12:53,625 --> 00:12:55,458 - He played all these games 255 00:12:55,542 --> 00:12:58,750 where he would move one guy from one seat to another seat, 256 00:12:58,834 --> 00:13:00,208 pit people against each other. 257 00:13:00,291 --> 00:13:04,750 And to him, judicial races were a chessboard. 258 00:13:04,834 --> 00:13:05,917 And nobody else wanted to do 'em 259 00:13:06,000 --> 00:13:09,083 because they're boring, kind of crap races. 260 00:13:09,166 --> 00:13:10,750 But Armando made a niche out of it, 261 00:13:10,834 --> 00:13:12,250 and he made a lot of money off of it 262 00:13:12,333 --> 00:13:14,208 and he was very successful at it. 263 00:13:14,291 --> 00:13:16,583 - For example, if he had a client 264 00:13:16,667 --> 00:13:19,291 and somebody else wanted to get into the race, 265 00:13:19,375 --> 00:13:21,625 he would go to that person and say, 266 00:13:21,709 --> 00:13:24,583 "I happen to know you've said or done these things, 267 00:13:24,667 --> 00:13:27,792 so I suggest that you stay out of this race." 268 00:13:27,875 --> 00:13:31,500 And guess what. It worked. 269 00:13:31,583 --> 00:13:34,583 - The shakedowns. - He-- 270 00:13:34,667 --> 00:13:38,792 Armando Gutierrez was a very congenial shakedown artist. 271 00:13:40,709 --> 00:13:42,333 - When asked once by the "Miami Herald" 272 00:13:42,417 --> 00:13:45,542 what type of shady tactics he may or may not have used, 273 00:13:45,625 --> 00:13:48,125 Armando Gutierrez volunteered, 274 00:13:48,208 --> 00:13:51,083 "I don't extort anyone." 275 00:13:51,166 --> 00:13:55,291 - He was known to be one of those black operatives. 276 00:14:00,917 --> 00:14:03,625 - Nobody seized the Elián opportunity 277 00:14:03,709 --> 00:14:06,333 better than Armando Gutierrez. 278 00:14:06,417 --> 00:14:10,792 In that moment, he became the gatekeeper. 279 00:14:10,875 --> 00:14:12,041 - Everybody ready? 280 00:14:14,083 --> 00:14:16,792 Okay, everybody ready? - Yeah. 281 00:14:19,917 --> 00:14:22,792 - This morning, another turn in the case of Elián González. 282 00:14:22,875 --> 00:14:24,500 A judge has ordered the six-year-old boy 283 00:14:24,583 --> 00:14:27,000 to stay in the U.S. until at least March. 284 00:14:27,083 --> 00:14:28,959 - The Miami family members, 285 00:14:29,041 --> 00:14:30,208 they went into family court 286 00:14:30,291 --> 00:14:34,959 and said, "We want the legal right to have this child." 287 00:14:35,041 --> 00:14:38,667 And Judge Rodriguez ruled in their favor. 288 00:14:38,750 --> 00:14:39,834 - In a sweeping decision, 289 00:14:39,917 --> 00:14:42,291 family court judge Rosa Rodriguez ordered 290 00:14:42,375 --> 00:14:45,208 that the little Cuban boy remain in his Miami home. 291 00:14:45,291 --> 00:14:47,917 - The status quo shall be preserved until such time 292 00:14:48,000 --> 00:14:50,208 as a full hearing on the verified petition 293 00:14:50,291 --> 00:14:52,750 for temporary custody and other relief is held. 294 00:14:52,834 --> 00:14:55,875 - What nobody knew was that Armando Gutierrez 295 00:14:55,959 --> 00:15:01,000 had been the campaign adviser to Rosa Rodriguez. 296 00:15:03,583 --> 00:15:06,000 - Judge Rosa Rodriguez of family court in Miami 297 00:15:06,083 --> 00:15:08,000 is defending herself over questions 298 00:15:08,083 --> 00:15:10,041 about a former campaign consultant. 299 00:15:10,125 --> 00:15:13,333 When she ran for election as judge in 1998, 300 00:15:13,417 --> 00:15:16,125 this man was a key paid campaign adviser: 301 00:15:16,208 --> 00:15:17,375 Armando Gutierrez. 302 00:15:17,458 --> 00:15:19,291 But now he's acting as spokesman 303 00:15:19,375 --> 00:15:21,208 for the boy's Miami relatives. 304 00:15:21,291 --> 00:15:22,583 - And of course, Armando Gutierrez 305 00:15:22,667 --> 00:15:25,083 was busy, you know, schmearing the judges all over town. 306 00:15:25,166 --> 00:15:27,125 Finally, they had the first court hearing that came up 307 00:15:27,208 --> 00:15:28,917 which turned out to be really shady. 308 00:15:29,000 --> 00:15:31,959 He seems to have his hand in every judge's pocket. 309 00:15:32,041 --> 00:15:34,417 - I haven't called her, I haven't sent her a telegram, 310 00:15:34,500 --> 00:15:36,417 and I haven't sent her any smoke signals. 311 00:15:36,500 --> 00:15:39,542 - Once again, it just didn't pass the smell test. 312 00:15:39,625 --> 00:15:42,250 - Tonight Attorney General Janet Reno is making it clear 313 00:15:42,333 --> 00:15:44,917 it is federal immigration case 314 00:15:45,000 --> 00:15:47,250 and laws that will decide all of this. 315 00:15:47,333 --> 00:15:50,208 The immigration service says he should be returned. 316 00:15:50,291 --> 00:15:52,166 - The temporary legal custody 317 00:15:52,250 --> 00:15:54,625 awarded his uncle by a Miami judge 318 00:15:54,709 --> 00:15:57,500 will not be recognized by the Justice Department 319 00:15:57,583 --> 00:15:59,583 because, the attorney general says, 320 00:15:59,667 --> 00:16:03,917 "That question remains one of federal, not state law." 321 00:16:04,000 --> 00:16:05,000 - Enter Janet Reno, 322 00:16:05,083 --> 00:16:06,834 not just a Florida native but a Miami native. 323 00:16:06,917 --> 00:16:10,166 She spent 15 years as the lead prosecutor 324 00:16:10,250 --> 00:16:11,959 here in Miami-Dade County, so she wasn't gonna let 325 00:16:12,041 --> 00:16:14,792 some state elected judge preside over this case 326 00:16:14,875 --> 00:16:17,500 when she knew how the game was played down here. 327 00:16:17,583 --> 00:16:22,500 - What is at issue is a father who wants his son home 328 00:16:22,583 --> 00:16:26,375 and grandparents who want their grandson home. 329 00:16:26,458 --> 00:16:29,500 And these are bonds that should be honored. 330 00:16:29,583 --> 00:16:33,250 - Janet Reno spoke softly, but she carried a big stick. 331 00:16:33,333 --> 00:16:36,291 - In Washington, the only sound was the metallic click 332 00:16:36,375 --> 00:16:38,625 of a magazine sliding into Janet Reno's Glock 333 00:16:38,709 --> 00:16:40,667 as she slipped into 334 00:16:40,750 --> 00:16:44,166 her periwinkle blue ass-kicking tunic. 335 00:16:48,542 --> 00:16:50,792 - America's most talked-about six-year-old, 336 00:16:50,875 --> 00:16:53,041 the boy on the cover of "TIME," 337 00:16:53,125 --> 00:16:55,125 offered a wave to photographers this morning 338 00:16:55,208 --> 00:16:57,208 as he was taken to school. 339 00:16:57,291 --> 00:17:00,834 - Elián stopped being a five- or six-year-old boy 340 00:17:00,917 --> 00:17:05,709 very quickly and became a symbol for American freedom 341 00:17:05,792 --> 00:17:07,000 and liberty. 342 00:17:07,083 --> 00:17:10,667 - Up to 40 news crews a day from as far away as Italy 343 00:17:10,750 --> 00:17:12,500 recording every moment. 344 00:17:12,583 --> 00:17:14,375 - From his first thumbs-up at the hospital... 345 00:17:14,458 --> 00:17:15,500 - Yeah. 346 00:17:15,583 --> 00:17:17,834 - To the parade for the crowd last night... 347 00:17:19,417 --> 00:17:23,000 The adults around him have coached and coaxed 348 00:17:23,083 --> 00:17:25,709 and never let him forget the photographers. 349 00:17:26,917 --> 00:17:28,208 - Even more bizarre, 350 00:17:28,291 --> 00:17:31,000 the boy's bigger-than-life celebrity status, 351 00:17:31,083 --> 00:17:33,041 complete strangers waiting hours 352 00:17:33,125 --> 00:17:35,709 to see or touch the child they call a miracle. 353 00:17:37,959 --> 00:17:39,875 - They stay glued to the radio, 354 00:17:39,959 --> 00:17:43,583 absorbing every ounce of information about Elián. 355 00:17:44,875 --> 00:17:47,375 - A fascination fueled by an aggressive campaign 356 00:17:47,458 --> 00:17:50,542 led by family spokesperson Armando Gutierrez 357 00:17:50,625 --> 00:17:53,834 helping to keep 200,000 Spanish radio listeners... 358 00:17:53,917 --> 00:17:55,333 - The fate of Elián González... 359 00:17:55,417 --> 00:17:58,834 - And an even bigger English audience tuned in daily. 360 00:17:58,917 --> 00:18:02,250 - Cuban talk radio in South Florida 361 00:18:02,333 --> 00:18:07,417 in the 1970s, '80s, and '90s 362 00:18:07,500 --> 00:18:10,792 was the most powerful mobilizing force 363 00:18:10,875 --> 00:18:13,417 anywhere in America. 364 00:18:13,500 --> 00:18:16,041 - The radio here gets politicians out 365 00:18:16,125 --> 00:18:17,750 onto the streets, he said. 366 00:18:17,834 --> 00:18:19,792 It mobilizes public opinion. 367 00:18:19,875 --> 00:18:23,583 - Cuban American radio was, in Miami, very similar 368 00:18:23,667 --> 00:18:27,250 to what Fox News has been nationally for Republicans. 369 00:18:29,041 --> 00:18:32,125 - If you had a dime for each time Cuban radio announcers 370 00:18:32,208 --> 00:18:34,417 used the words "communist" or "Fidel Castro" 371 00:18:34,500 --> 00:18:35,750 in their newscasts, 372 00:18:35,834 --> 00:18:38,959 you'd probably be on your way to retirement by now. 373 00:18:39,041 --> 00:18:40,917 - One of the things that the Republican Party 374 00:18:41,000 --> 00:18:43,750 figured out in Florida and especially in Miami 375 00:18:43,834 --> 00:18:46,417 was that you could weaponize the Cuba issue, 376 00:18:46,500 --> 00:18:48,750 and the way to weaponize that issue 377 00:18:48,834 --> 00:18:52,834 was to use the C-word, "communists." 378 00:18:52,917 --> 00:18:55,625 - Cuban radio stations encourage violence 379 00:18:55,709 --> 00:18:56,750 against moderate exiles, 380 00:18:56,834 --> 00:18:59,250 those who want a dialogue with Castro. 381 00:18:59,333 --> 00:19:01,959 - There were Cuban Americans who didn't want this kid 382 00:19:02,041 --> 00:19:04,125 to stay here, who thought he should go back. 383 00:19:04,208 --> 00:19:06,750 They were too afraid to speak out. 384 00:19:06,834 --> 00:19:08,125 - In public, it was one thing. 385 00:19:08,208 --> 00:19:12,291 In private, it was totally different. 386 00:19:12,375 --> 00:19:15,166 - They knew that there would be repercussions. 387 00:19:15,250 --> 00:19:17,959 Sometimes the repercussions could be violent. 388 00:19:18,041 --> 00:19:19,125 - Frankly, 389 00:19:19,208 --> 00:19:22,625 the Cuban American community has never shown itself 390 00:19:22,709 --> 00:19:26,458 to have acted violently under any circumstances. 391 00:19:26,542 --> 00:19:29,375 - The bomb went off at Miami International Airport 392 00:19:29,458 --> 00:19:30,834 shortly before 11:30. 393 00:19:30,917 --> 00:19:33,000 - The bomb exploded shortly after midnight. 394 00:19:33,083 --> 00:19:35,333 - Between 1965 through the '90s, 395 00:19:35,417 --> 00:19:38,041 there were over 150 bombings 396 00:19:38,125 --> 00:19:40,458 where some people lost their businesses 397 00:19:40,542 --> 00:19:43,208 or lost their limbs or even their lives. 398 00:19:43,291 --> 00:19:46,000 - The FBI says Miami has had more terrorist activity 399 00:19:46,083 --> 00:19:48,834 over the past three decades than any other U.S. city. 400 00:19:48,917 --> 00:19:51,959 - Bombings and death threats and vandalism. 401 00:19:52,041 --> 00:19:54,500 - Some believe the blast has done irreparable damage 402 00:19:54,583 --> 00:19:58,333 to the image of Miami's Cuban Americans. 403 00:19:58,417 --> 00:20:01,000 - Miami behaves like a banana republic, 404 00:20:01,083 --> 00:20:04,041 that the rights and the laws are being violated 405 00:20:04,125 --> 00:20:06,667 in order to support the machinery 406 00:20:06,750 --> 00:20:08,333 of extreme right-wing elements 407 00:20:08,417 --> 00:20:10,625 in the Cuban American community. 408 00:20:10,709 --> 00:20:13,750 - There were 800,000 Cuban Americans 409 00:20:13,834 --> 00:20:15,834 living in Miami at the time, 410 00:20:15,917 --> 00:20:20,917 but a minority of mostly hard-liner extremists 411 00:20:21,000 --> 00:20:23,250 very much dictated the conversation. 412 00:20:23,333 --> 00:20:26,333 - You've got this small but vocal and hysterical 413 00:20:26,417 --> 00:20:28,750 group of people fanned on, always fanned on 414 00:20:28,834 --> 00:20:31,208 by the Spanish-language radio stations in this town 415 00:20:31,291 --> 00:20:33,125 and these crazy people, irresponsible people 416 00:20:33,208 --> 00:20:34,375 that get on there and whip them up 417 00:20:34,458 --> 00:20:35,834 and encourage them to do these things. 418 00:20:44,458 --> 00:20:47,417 - Unfortunately, Elián González did become 419 00:20:47,500 --> 00:20:50,875 a proxy argument for other things. 420 00:20:50,959 --> 00:20:54,208 He was used for political purposes. 421 00:20:54,291 --> 00:20:57,959 - They're following orders either from Clinton's lawyer 422 00:20:58,041 --> 00:20:59,792 or Fidel, and they need to answer 423 00:20:59,875 --> 00:21:02,333 to the community and to the world. 424 00:21:02,417 --> 00:21:05,542 - There was this endless parade of politicians 425 00:21:05,625 --> 00:21:08,917 who came for a photo op with this kid. 426 00:21:09,000 --> 00:21:10,375 - It's mostly the Republicans. 427 00:21:10,458 --> 00:21:12,792 They're the ones who are most vehemently anti-immigration, 428 00:21:12,875 --> 00:21:14,083 and yet now because they think 429 00:21:14,166 --> 00:21:15,750 they can make some political brownie points, 430 00:21:15,834 --> 00:21:17,917 they're grandstanding on this bullcrap. 431 00:21:18,000 --> 00:21:20,375 - Incredible, the way they were using the kid. 432 00:21:20,458 --> 00:21:22,208 People coming from Washington. 433 00:21:22,291 --> 00:21:25,250 That's pandering of the worst kind. 434 00:21:25,333 --> 00:21:28,208 - But to create this hysteria over one immigration case-- 435 00:21:28,291 --> 00:21:29,625 that's all this is. 436 00:21:29,709 --> 00:21:31,250 How many immigration hearings are there 437 00:21:31,333 --> 00:21:32,250 every year in this country? 438 00:21:32,333 --> 00:21:33,291 How many thousands? 439 00:21:33,375 --> 00:21:35,083 How many desperate children come here, 440 00:21:35,166 --> 00:21:37,792 including kids from China and other comunista countries? 441 00:21:37,875 --> 00:21:40,667 Anybody protesting about that? - No. 442 00:21:40,750 --> 00:21:42,625 - Every Republican politician was there 443 00:21:42,709 --> 00:21:44,166 sucking ass yesterday. 444 00:21:44,250 --> 00:21:45,583 They couldn't get there fast enough 445 00:21:45,667 --> 00:21:48,834 to exploit this and jump on the goddamn bandwagon. 446 00:21:48,917 --> 00:21:50,959 - It was sad to see, really. 447 00:21:51,041 --> 00:21:53,458 - One of the reasons that Washington is listening 448 00:21:53,542 --> 00:21:56,291 so carefully to South Florida today 449 00:21:56,375 --> 00:21:58,750 is because of the solid vote bloc 450 00:21:58,834 --> 00:22:00,291 that the Cuban Americans can give. 451 00:22:00,375 --> 00:22:01,500 In the last election, 452 00:22:01,583 --> 00:22:04,792 President Clinton got about 40% of the Cuban vote. 453 00:22:04,875 --> 00:22:07,000 If a Democratic president can get 454 00:22:07,083 --> 00:22:09,834 over 35% of the Cuban vote in a close race, 455 00:22:09,917 --> 00:22:13,458 that will guarantee him the state of Florida. 456 00:22:13,542 --> 00:22:15,875 - At last night's Republican presidential debate, 457 00:22:15,959 --> 00:22:18,667 all the candidates demand that Elián be allowed to stay here 458 00:22:18,750 --> 00:22:21,834 and his father allowed to join him if he wishes. 459 00:22:21,917 --> 00:22:23,667 - The man ought to be brought to the United States, 460 00:22:23,750 --> 00:22:25,375 given a whiff of freedom 461 00:22:25,458 --> 00:22:27,583 so he can see how wonderful our country is. 462 00:22:27,667 --> 00:22:29,000 - The election-year politics 463 00:22:29,083 --> 00:22:31,041 surrounding the Elián González case 464 00:22:31,125 --> 00:22:32,500 got a little more intense today. 465 00:22:32,583 --> 00:22:34,333 - Even the vice president has split 466 00:22:34,417 --> 00:22:37,917 with his own administration, saying the court must decide 467 00:22:38,000 --> 00:22:40,000 and sounding very much like the Republicans. 468 00:22:40,083 --> 00:22:43,417 - This child's mother died 469 00:22:43,500 --> 00:22:47,500 in an effort to get her child freedom. 470 00:22:47,583 --> 00:22:50,333 - That puts Gore in opposition to President Clinton 471 00:22:50,417 --> 00:22:52,542 but in line with South Florida's big bloc 472 00:22:52,625 --> 00:22:55,041 of Cuban expatriate voters. 473 00:22:55,125 --> 00:22:56,458 - Vice President Al Gore 474 00:22:56,542 --> 00:22:58,375 visited a pharmacy in Connecticut yesterday, 475 00:22:58,458 --> 00:22:59,750 where he was getting some Advil. 476 00:22:59,834 --> 00:23:00,750 Apparently, he hurt is back 477 00:23:00,834 --> 00:23:02,417 flip-flopping on this Elián issue. 478 00:23:02,500 --> 00:23:03,917 I don't know. Just back and forth. 479 00:23:04,000 --> 00:23:05,208 Aah! 480 00:23:05,291 --> 00:23:08,583 - Al Gore should use his influence today 481 00:23:08,667 --> 00:23:11,000 to give Elián a ray of hope 482 00:23:11,083 --> 00:23:14,041 by insisting that the administration 483 00:23:14,125 --> 00:23:16,041 of which he is a part 484 00:23:16,125 --> 00:23:18,875 uses its legal authority 485 00:23:18,959 --> 00:23:20,375 to keep Elián in the United States 486 00:23:20,458 --> 00:23:22,542 while his best interests are determined. 487 00:23:22,625 --> 00:23:26,041 - I did not think at the time 488 00:23:26,125 --> 00:23:31,625 that this thing would become so big that it would influence 489 00:23:31,709 --> 00:23:34,542 the politics of the United States of America. 490 00:23:34,625 --> 00:23:36,375 - President Clinton has said repeatedly 491 00:23:36,458 --> 00:23:38,250 he wants to avoid playing politics 492 00:23:38,333 --> 00:23:40,083 with the life of a six-year-old boy. 493 00:23:40,166 --> 00:23:42,291 - Maybe it's just because I'm not running for anything, 494 00:23:42,375 --> 00:23:43,792 but I just somehow wish 495 00:23:43,875 --> 00:23:48,083 that whatever is best for this child could be done. 496 00:23:48,166 --> 00:23:49,959 - But Gore is running for something, 497 00:23:50,041 --> 00:23:52,083 and he faces an uphill fight in Florida, 498 00:23:52,166 --> 00:23:53,792 especially if federal authorities 499 00:23:53,875 --> 00:23:56,041 forcibly return Elián to Cuba. 500 00:23:56,125 --> 00:24:01,458 - It wasn't until we started to see that rift developing 501 00:24:01,542 --> 00:24:04,250 between Al Gore and Bill Clinton 502 00:24:04,333 --> 00:24:07,458 that we started to say, "Oh, shit." 503 00:24:08,667 --> 00:24:10,959 - Earlier today on the federal courthouse steps, 504 00:24:11,041 --> 00:24:13,792 mayors from 21 cities mounted their protest, 505 00:24:13,875 --> 00:24:15,542 the most controversial remarks 506 00:24:15,625 --> 00:24:18,750 from Miami-Dade County mayor Alex Penelas. 507 00:24:18,834 --> 00:24:19,917 - In a press conference, 508 00:24:20,041 --> 00:24:23,667 the mayor of Miami stepped up to his sound machine. 509 00:24:23,750 --> 00:24:27,083 - If their continued provocation 510 00:24:27,166 --> 00:24:30,500 in the form of unjustified threats 511 00:24:30,583 --> 00:24:32,959 to revoke the boy's parole 512 00:24:33,041 --> 00:24:37,083 leads to civil unrest and violence, 513 00:24:37,166 --> 00:24:40,583 we are holding the federal government responsible 514 00:24:40,667 --> 00:24:43,458 and specifically Janet Reno 515 00:24:43,542 --> 00:24:46,125 and the president of the United States. 516 00:24:49,208 --> 00:24:50,959 - You don't want to provoke Janet Reno. 517 00:24:53,166 --> 00:24:54,792 She'll break free from her moorings 518 00:24:54,875 --> 00:24:57,125 and drop Elián in Havana personally. 519 00:25:02,583 --> 00:25:05,041 - First of all, you never incite violence. 520 00:25:05,125 --> 00:25:07,333 Even if you think you're right, 521 00:25:07,417 --> 00:25:09,667 you don't incite or you don't talk about violence. 522 00:25:09,750 --> 00:25:14,417 - We will not lend our respective resources, 523 00:25:14,500 --> 00:25:17,834 whether they be in the form of police officers 524 00:25:17,917 --> 00:25:20,166 or any other resources, 525 00:25:20,250 --> 00:25:22,000 to assist the federal government 526 00:25:22,083 --> 00:25:25,041 in any way, shape, or form. 527 00:25:25,125 --> 00:25:26,542 - Well, 528 00:25:26,625 --> 00:25:28,458 I like the mayor very much, 529 00:25:28,542 --> 00:25:30,333 but I still believe in the rule of law here. 530 00:25:30,417 --> 00:25:32,000 We all have to. 531 00:25:32,083 --> 00:25:33,291 Whatever the law is, 532 00:25:33,375 --> 00:25:34,875 whatever the decision is ultimately made, 533 00:25:34,959 --> 00:25:36,667 the rest of us ought to obey it. 534 00:25:42,417 --> 00:25:44,917 - There was an explosion in Miami. 535 00:25:47,959 --> 00:25:49,375 - The Cuban community, 536 00:25:49,458 --> 00:25:52,041 in many ways led by Alex Penelas, 537 00:25:52,125 --> 00:25:53,709 rose up and they said, 538 00:25:53,792 --> 00:25:55,875 "No way this kid is going back." 539 00:25:59,166 --> 00:26:01,375 There were demonstrations in the streets. 540 00:26:01,458 --> 00:26:02,709 There were people marching. 541 00:26:02,792 --> 00:26:06,166 It was sort of like "Les Misérables" Miami-style. 542 00:26:18,959 --> 00:26:21,542 - And this small band of malcontents, 543 00:26:21,625 --> 00:26:25,083 of militant assholes who insist on getting their way 544 00:26:25,166 --> 00:26:26,792 and anybody in Dade County that dares 545 00:26:26,875 --> 00:26:29,250 to say anything opposite is crucified, vilified, 546 00:26:29,333 --> 00:26:31,709 "comunista, maricón, ," 547 00:26:31,792 --> 00:26:33,917 those are the people that run all of South Florida. 548 00:26:34,000 --> 00:26:36,500 4 million people whose lives and fate 549 00:26:36,583 --> 00:26:38,000 and everyday life is determined-- 550 00:26:38,083 --> 00:26:39,291 and quality of their life-- 551 00:26:39,375 --> 00:26:41,583 by a few thousand selfish imbeciles 552 00:26:41,667 --> 00:26:43,792 who have no concern for anybody else. 553 00:26:43,875 --> 00:26:45,583 Nice going, Mayor Penis 554 00:26:45,667 --> 00:26:47,917 and all you other pandering assholes, you. 555 00:26:48,000 --> 00:26:50,083 - There are a lot of people here today 556 00:26:50,166 --> 00:26:52,083 who are expressing very deep emotions. 557 00:26:52,166 --> 00:26:53,625 - You phony. 558 00:26:53,709 --> 00:26:56,792 His name should be changed from Penis to Pinga. 559 00:26:56,875 --> 00:26:57,917 That's what I'm gonna start calling him 560 00:26:58,000 --> 00:27:01,583 from this day forward: Mayor Pinga Pequeño. 561 00:27:01,667 --> 00:27:04,083 - Means "a man with a small member." 562 00:27:05,667 --> 00:27:09,166 - People have demonstrated appropriately. 563 00:27:13,041 --> 00:27:15,625 - Reporting from Florida International University 564 00:27:15,709 --> 00:27:18,333 in Miami, Ted Koppel. 565 00:27:20,375 --> 00:27:23,291 - I remember Ted Koppel comes to town. 566 00:27:23,375 --> 00:27:25,959 Everybody's gonna be watching "Nightline" 567 00:27:26,041 --> 00:27:28,792 to see what happened with the Elián saga, 568 00:27:28,875 --> 00:27:32,750 and there was their nemesis, Janet Reno. 569 00:27:32,834 --> 00:27:36,417 - I want to work this out so force is not used 570 00:27:36,500 --> 00:27:41,166 so that we do it in a way that is fair to all concerned. 571 00:27:41,250 --> 00:27:43,792 - And then there was gonna be Alex Penelas, 572 00:27:43,875 --> 00:27:47,333 who people wondered which way he was gonna go. 573 00:27:47,417 --> 00:27:50,542 - And it was there that Ted Koppel called out Penelas. 574 00:27:50,625 --> 00:27:52,709 - Do you want to say to the attorney general 575 00:27:52,792 --> 00:27:55,667 to her face... 576 00:27:57,959 --> 00:28:01,125 What you said when she was not present, 577 00:28:01,208 --> 00:28:03,333 namely, if there was violence, 578 00:28:03,417 --> 00:28:06,333 it would be on her head and on the president's head? 579 00:28:06,417 --> 00:28:08,959 - And guess what. Alex Penelas really didn't. 580 00:28:09,041 --> 00:28:12,000 - Ted, I think we are all responsible for our actions, 581 00:28:12,083 --> 00:28:13,375 each and every one of us. 582 00:28:13,458 --> 00:28:15,041 So there's no doubt that... 583 00:28:15,125 --> 00:28:18,041 And getting back to the issue of the polls, 584 00:28:18,125 --> 00:28:20,834 every time I see a poll that talks about... 585 00:28:20,917 --> 00:28:23,041 To have his appellate rights protected. 586 00:28:23,125 --> 00:28:27,000 - Mr. Mayor, I've allowed you to go on for a long time here 587 00:28:27,083 --> 00:28:29,959 in the hope that you would ultimately answer my question, 588 00:28:30,041 --> 00:28:31,417 but you haven't yet. 589 00:28:31,500 --> 00:28:34,667 - Ted, what I'd like to tell the attorney general 590 00:28:34,750 --> 00:28:37,417 is that we all are responsible for our actions. 591 00:28:37,500 --> 00:28:40,667 - What does that mean? You're the mayor, right? 592 00:28:40,750 --> 00:28:43,750 But if federal marshals were to come down here, 593 00:28:43,834 --> 00:28:45,333 they can count on the local police 594 00:28:45,417 --> 00:28:46,375 to back them up and support them. 595 00:28:46,458 --> 00:28:47,542 Is that correct? - Absolutely. 596 00:28:47,625 --> 00:28:49,834 Public officials will be here to maintain the order. 597 00:28:49,917 --> 00:28:51,208 Absolutely. - Very good, sir. 598 00:28:57,667 --> 00:29:00,041 - Congratulations. You played yourself. 599 00:29:00,125 --> 00:29:01,709 - Holy shit. 600 00:29:01,792 --> 00:29:03,542 - It's Reno time! 601 00:29:03,625 --> 00:29:05,709 both: Damn! 602 00:29:07,458 --> 00:29:09,333 - Mayor Penelas, you may very well regret now 603 00:29:09,417 --> 00:29:11,583 what you said last week, but I just--I want you to know 604 00:29:11,667 --> 00:29:14,417 you left a lot of us feeling incredibly disenfranchised 605 00:29:14,500 --> 00:29:16,834 from this community, and it's gonna be very, very difficult 606 00:29:16,917 --> 00:29:18,500 to ever forgive you for that. 607 00:29:23,041 --> 00:29:26,750 - He was really a Shakespearean figure in that moment. 608 00:29:26,834 --> 00:29:30,166 He was Macbeth. 609 00:29:30,250 --> 00:29:33,625 - It is a tale told by an idiot, 610 00:29:33,709 --> 00:29:36,625 full of sound and fury, 611 00:29:36,709 --> 00:29:41,125 signifying nothing. 612 00:29:41,208 --> 00:29:42,750 - "What do I do? 613 00:29:42,834 --> 00:29:45,709 How do I get myself out of this situation?" 614 00:29:45,792 --> 00:29:48,917 - After four months of negotiation, 615 00:29:49,000 --> 00:29:52,291 it has come down to the attorney general 616 00:29:52,375 --> 00:29:56,166 flying down to Florida in the late afternoon, 617 00:29:56,250 --> 00:29:59,625 personally negotiating with the boy's relatives. 618 00:29:59,709 --> 00:30:01,000 But after three hours, 619 00:30:01,083 --> 00:30:05,709 the attorney general left without a resolution. 620 00:30:07,375 --> 00:30:09,834 - A defiant Lazaro González made it clear 621 00:30:09,917 --> 00:30:14,625 he was not going to turn over Elián to his father. 622 00:30:14,709 --> 00:30:17,959 His great-uncle Lazaro told Attorney General Janet Reno 623 00:30:18,041 --> 00:30:22,125 that the boy could be removed only by force. 624 00:30:22,208 --> 00:30:27,333 - Elián González is being held unlawfully in Miami 625 00:30:27,417 --> 00:30:30,291 against his father's wishes. 626 00:30:30,375 --> 00:30:32,625 - I want to be clear 627 00:30:32,709 --> 00:30:34,959 that if we are compelled to enforce our order, 628 00:30:35,041 --> 00:30:39,667 we intend to do so in a reasonable, measured way. 629 00:30:39,750 --> 00:30:42,166 - Reno has already put into action a peaceful plan 630 00:30:42,250 --> 00:30:43,542 for the transfer of Elián 631 00:30:43,625 --> 00:30:46,417 based largely on this trial run. 632 00:32:01,667 --> 00:32:03,583 - No one was seriously hurt, 633 00:32:03,667 --> 00:32:05,417 but outside the house for some of those 634 00:32:05,500 --> 00:32:08,125 who had been holding vigil day and night, 635 00:32:08,208 --> 00:32:10,834 the emotional wounds were deep. 636 00:32:10,917 --> 00:32:12,875 - Is that democracy? 637 00:32:12,959 --> 00:32:14,458 No, that's Castro tactics! 638 00:32:14,542 --> 00:32:17,208 You have turned Miami into Havana! 639 00:32:19,333 --> 00:32:20,750 - I would like to take a moment 640 00:32:20,834 --> 00:32:24,417 to talk to the exiled Cuban community in Miami 641 00:32:24,500 --> 00:32:28,750 who are so upset over the recent government action there 642 00:32:28,834 --> 00:32:32,917 and extend this heartfelt message to them: 643 00:32:33,000 --> 00:32:35,750 shut the hell up. 644 00:32:48,458 --> 00:32:50,625 - It's supposed to be nonviolent. 645 00:32:50,709 --> 00:32:52,333 I just called the police three times. 646 00:32:54,375 --> 00:32:58,166 - I'm burning this flag like Clinton did. 647 00:32:58,250 --> 00:32:59,792 - It was a circus. 648 00:33:04,208 --> 00:33:06,625 - I just saw you throw a rock. 649 00:33:06,709 --> 00:33:07,625 Reno is shit. 650 00:33:08,750 --> 00:33:10,125 - Reno is motherfucker. 651 00:33:11,875 --> 00:33:12,792 - All right, Miss Reno! 652 00:33:12,875 --> 00:33:14,000 So you ready? - Ready! 653 00:33:14,083 --> 00:33:15,959 - Go, Blue! - Go, Blue! 654 00:33:23,250 --> 00:33:24,166 - That's it! 655 00:33:24,250 --> 00:33:25,667 Let's move, move, move, move, move! 656 00:33:25,750 --> 00:33:26,834 - Give us the kids now! 657 00:33:29,875 --> 00:33:31,500 - Hand over the children! Happy Easter. 658 00:33:31,583 --> 00:33:32,542 Hand over the children! 659 00:33:36,959 --> 00:33:38,333 - Get your ass off the road! 660 00:33:41,417 --> 00:33:45,500 - It was a very bad situation post-raid 661 00:33:45,583 --> 00:33:47,834 in the Cuban American community. 662 00:33:47,917 --> 00:33:50,000 Emotions were inflamed. 663 00:33:50,083 --> 00:33:53,834 Mayor Penelas hoped to inflame those emotions. 664 00:33:53,917 --> 00:33:56,542 - I think, you know, despite this horrible episode, 665 00:33:56,625 --> 00:33:58,834 what's happened here is unforgivable. 666 00:34:01,792 --> 00:34:05,709 - And to the mayor of Miami, what's-his-name, 667 00:34:05,792 --> 00:34:10,333 you say you're ashamed of your new home, the United States? 668 00:34:10,417 --> 00:34:12,750 I'll tell you what. 669 00:34:12,834 --> 00:34:15,583 I'll buy the raft. 670 00:34:20,125 --> 00:34:24,542 - When Elián was finally returned to Cuba 671 00:34:24,625 --> 00:34:26,542 and to his father, 672 00:34:26,625 --> 00:34:31,000 hell was gonna freeze over among exile hard-liners 673 00:34:31,083 --> 00:34:34,333 before they forgot this betrayal 674 00:34:34,417 --> 00:34:37,750 by Clinton-Gore. 675 00:34:37,834 --> 00:34:38,875 - There was a lot of tension 676 00:34:38,959 --> 00:34:41,583 between Bill Clinton's Cuba policy 677 00:34:41,667 --> 00:34:43,709 and the exile community in Miami, 678 00:34:43,792 --> 00:34:46,333 and Al Gore, having been the vice president, 679 00:34:46,417 --> 00:34:48,792 inherited all of those tensions. 680 00:34:48,875 --> 00:34:51,375 - There was going to be a price to be paid. 681 00:34:57,542 --> 00:35:01,792 The Gore-Bush election 682 00:35:01,875 --> 00:35:06,834 was an opportunity for el voto castigo, 683 00:35:06,917 --> 00:35:09,458 the revenge vote. 684 00:35:09,542 --> 00:35:11,250 - It's a punishment vote. 685 00:35:11,333 --> 00:35:14,625 Remember to vote and punish these people. 686 00:35:14,709 --> 00:35:16,792 - El voto castigo, they called it, 687 00:35:16,875 --> 00:35:18,250 the punishment vote. 688 00:35:18,333 --> 00:35:20,417 Whom will Cuban American voters punish? 689 00:35:20,500 --> 00:35:22,959 Al Gore and the Democrats. 690 00:35:23,041 --> 00:35:25,417 - I will fight for your loved ones, 691 00:35:25,500 --> 00:35:26,750 for your community, 692 00:35:26,834 --> 00:35:30,667 for the future of Florida and the United States. 693 00:35:30,750 --> 00:35:32,917 - George Bush, 694 00:35:33,000 --> 00:35:36,959 the luckiest politician in the history of America, 695 00:35:37,041 --> 00:35:39,875 was handed this 696 00:35:39,959 --> 00:35:43,250 delicious plate of voters... 697 00:35:50,291 --> 00:35:53,959 - Compliments of what happened to Elián González 698 00:35:54,041 --> 00:35:57,291 and, suddenly, Armando Gutierrez, 699 00:35:57,375 --> 00:35:59,834 who had to choose not only a judge, 700 00:35:59,917 --> 00:36:01,333 like he was used to doing. 701 00:36:01,417 --> 00:36:02,792 Now he was allowed to choose 702 00:36:02,875 --> 00:36:05,041 the next president of the United States. 703 00:36:05,125 --> 00:36:09,166 This is the guy you vote for to punish, castigo, 704 00:36:09,250 --> 00:36:12,458 el voto castigo. 705 00:36:12,542 --> 00:36:14,875 Talk about fortune. 706 00:36:15,583 --> 00:36:17,875 - It's the top political job in South Florida, 707 00:36:17,959 --> 00:36:21,208 and Alex Penelas is determined to hang on to it. 708 00:36:21,291 --> 00:36:25,417 - There was an effort to fund his reelection campaign 709 00:36:25,500 --> 00:36:29,041 from Florida Democrats and national Democrats, 710 00:36:29,125 --> 00:36:33,375 and I certainly was helping to raise part of the money. 711 00:36:33,458 --> 00:36:36,166 - Penelas, who's collected four times as much money 712 00:36:36,250 --> 00:36:37,500 as his main opponent, 713 00:36:37,583 --> 00:36:39,834 could spend $3/4 million 714 00:36:39,917 --> 00:36:43,166 on TV and other advertising by the end of the campaign. 715 00:36:43,250 --> 00:36:45,834 - This was his last election as mayor, 716 00:36:45,917 --> 00:36:47,709 and he was looking to run for governor 717 00:36:47,792 --> 00:36:49,834 or senator afterwards. 718 00:36:49,917 --> 00:36:53,375 If he became an incumbent mayor, 719 00:36:53,458 --> 00:36:55,375 then there was no reason 720 00:36:55,458 --> 00:36:58,083 where he couldn't spend some political capital 721 00:36:58,166 --> 00:37:02,792 and help Gore on the national campaign. 722 00:37:05,291 --> 00:37:07,583 - It wasn't until 1:30 in the morning 723 00:37:07,667 --> 00:37:10,000 that Alex Penelas could claim reelection 724 00:37:10,083 --> 00:37:11,709 in the first round of balloting. 725 00:37:11,792 --> 00:37:13,208 - I'm happy to tell you that we've won, 726 00:37:13,291 --> 00:37:14,208 ladies and gentlemen. 727 00:37:17,959 --> 00:37:20,875 - There was now the critical two months of election, 728 00:37:20,959 --> 00:37:25,166 from Labor Day to Election Day, to help Vice President Gore 729 00:37:25,250 --> 00:37:28,959 gain as much of that Cuban percentage back. 730 00:37:29,041 --> 00:37:31,375 - From Alex Penelas, you're always gonna get leadership, 731 00:37:31,458 --> 00:37:33,458 even the most difficult of situations. 732 00:37:33,542 --> 00:37:35,250 Whether the hurricanes or any other crisis, 733 00:37:35,333 --> 00:37:38,750 you're always gonna get leadership from Alex Penelas. 734 00:37:42,125 --> 00:37:43,583 - A few weeks before the election, 735 00:37:43,667 --> 00:37:45,709 Alex Penelas was supposed to calm down 736 00:37:45,792 --> 00:37:47,875 the declaration of el voto castigo 737 00:37:47,959 --> 00:37:51,458 by appearing with Hialeah mayor Raúl Martinez 738 00:37:51,542 --> 00:37:55,250 to bolster Hispanic support for the Gore campaign. 739 00:37:55,333 --> 00:37:57,250 - They asked me to stand with Alex 740 00:37:57,333 --> 00:37:59,208 at La Carreta in Hialeah. 741 00:37:59,291 --> 00:38:03,291 It was gonna be some national event 742 00:38:03,375 --> 00:38:07,083 where all the Hispanic nationally would be supportive, 743 00:38:07,166 --> 00:38:08,083 and of course, you know, 744 00:38:08,166 --> 00:38:10,417 they wanted to get the media there. 745 00:38:10,500 --> 00:38:13,750 I said, "Okay, I'll be there at 11:00 in the morning, 746 00:38:13,834 --> 00:38:17,291 and I'll just be there as a second banana to Alex." 747 00:38:17,375 --> 00:38:20,792 - So Gore just had to convince Cuban Americans 748 00:38:20,875 --> 00:38:22,959 that he was truly on their side 749 00:38:23,041 --> 00:38:25,291 on the Elián argument 750 00:38:25,375 --> 00:38:27,750 and he disagreed with Bill Clinton, 751 00:38:27,834 --> 00:38:31,917 and the only thing he really needed to make that happen 752 00:38:32,000 --> 00:38:37,500 was to have Alex Penelas, the mayor of Miami-Dade County, 753 00:38:37,583 --> 00:38:39,625 the most important county for Cuban Americans 754 00:38:39,709 --> 00:38:41,125 in the country, 755 00:38:41,208 --> 00:38:44,959 to stand at his side and back him on that. 756 00:38:45,041 --> 00:38:49,959 - Vice President Gore flew in to hopefully collect 757 00:38:50,041 --> 00:38:54,417 on what he thought was Mr. Penelas' word 758 00:38:54,500 --> 00:38:58,709 and accept Mayor Penelas' endorsement. 759 00:38:58,792 --> 00:39:00,542 - Got there. 760 00:39:00,625 --> 00:39:03,667 By 10:30, 10:45, Alex wasn't there, 761 00:39:03,750 --> 00:39:05,834 and we decided that we're gonna do a press conference there, 762 00:39:05,917 --> 00:39:06,875 which we did. 763 00:39:06,959 --> 00:39:09,291 Alex never showed up. 764 00:39:09,375 --> 00:39:12,291 - We were told that Mayor Penelas 765 00:39:12,375 --> 00:39:15,041 was going to be going to Spain. 766 00:39:15,125 --> 00:39:17,875 - They probably thought he was gonna be in the country. 767 00:39:17,959 --> 00:39:21,291 They probably expected that. 768 00:39:21,375 --> 00:39:24,000 - Hard to campaign for Al Gore when you're in Spain. 769 00:39:28,750 --> 00:39:30,500 - I said, "Wait a minute. 770 00:39:30,583 --> 00:39:35,333 "Planes for Spain don't leave until 6:00 at night. 771 00:39:35,417 --> 00:39:37,333 This is 11:00 in the morning." 772 00:39:43,291 --> 00:39:44,542 - Al Gore wakes up one day and says, 773 00:39:44,625 --> 00:39:46,208 "What happened to Alex Penelas?" 774 00:39:46,291 --> 00:39:49,583 He's gone. He folded like a cheap suit. 775 00:39:49,667 --> 00:39:53,583 - Mr. Penelas decided to leave Vice President Gore 776 00:39:53,667 --> 00:39:56,500 literally standing at the altar. 777 00:39:56,583 --> 00:40:00,166 - I was annoyed and pissed, because you don't do that. 778 00:40:00,250 --> 00:40:02,041 - I went to rallies. 779 00:40:02,125 --> 00:40:05,417 I heard other people speak about Gore. 780 00:40:05,500 --> 00:40:09,750 But dónde está Alex Penelas? 781 00:40:09,834 --> 00:40:12,667 He was nowhere to be seen. 782 00:40:12,750 --> 00:40:15,208 - Dónde está Alex Penelas? 783 00:40:17,417 --> 00:40:22,417 - When the going gets tough, Alex gets going. 784 00:40:39,709 --> 00:40:42,083 - No Republican has won the presidency without Florida 785 00:40:42,166 --> 00:40:45,041 since Calvin Coolidge in 1924. 786 00:40:45,125 --> 00:40:46,041 - Florida was key. 787 00:40:46,125 --> 00:40:47,792 I mean, if we didn't win Florida, 788 00:40:47,875 --> 00:40:49,208 we wouldn't have won the election. 789 00:40:49,291 --> 00:40:51,625 - Thanks for coming. 790 00:40:51,709 --> 00:40:52,917 This is a huge crowd, 791 00:40:53,000 --> 00:40:55,125 which leads me to be able to say 792 00:40:55,208 --> 00:40:57,583 Florida is gonna be Bush-Cheney country. 793 00:40:59,709 --> 00:41:00,709 - Didn't hurt to have your brother 794 00:41:00,792 --> 00:41:02,792 as the governor of Florida. 795 00:41:02,875 --> 00:41:05,959 - On the stop today, Bush rallied the crowds 796 00:41:06,041 --> 00:41:08,458 with Florida's governor, his brother Jeb. 797 00:41:08,542 --> 00:41:09,792 The younger Bush has led 798 00:41:09,875 --> 00:41:11,834 a huge "get out the vote" effort here, 799 00:41:11,917 --> 00:41:14,291 and advisers believe Florida is the state 800 00:41:14,375 --> 00:41:16,333 that will propel them to victory. 801 00:41:16,417 --> 00:41:19,125 - A person that can get things done in Washington, D.C., 802 00:41:19,208 --> 00:41:21,458 that will eliminate the cynicism of the past 803 00:41:21,542 --> 00:41:23,583 and bring a new era for this country: 804 00:41:23,667 --> 00:41:25,458 my brother George W. Bush, 805 00:41:25,542 --> 00:41:27,250 the next president of the United States. 806 00:41:27,333 --> 00:41:29,583 - The candidate poured it on thick, 807 00:41:29,667 --> 00:41:31,083 especially on Cuban voters, 808 00:41:31,166 --> 00:41:35,083 whose ears tune in to talk of Elián and Fidel Castro. 809 00:41:35,166 --> 00:41:37,667 - We will keep the pressure on Fidel Castro 810 00:41:37,750 --> 00:41:40,458 until the people are free. 811 00:41:40,542 --> 00:41:41,959 - South Florida was so important. 812 00:41:42,041 --> 00:41:44,166 Both candidates made multiple stops here 813 00:41:44,250 --> 00:41:46,000 the day before the election. 814 00:41:51,417 --> 00:41:55,000 Sing it! 815 00:41:55,083 --> 00:41:56,709 - South Beach center stage 816 00:41:56,792 --> 00:41:59,208 for a late-night rock-and-roll rally 817 00:41:59,291 --> 00:42:03,417 that Al Gore hopes will ignite last-minute Florida voters. 818 00:42:03,500 --> 00:42:06,166 - "If you want to win, vote for Gore and Lieberman." 819 00:42:06,250 --> 00:42:09,000 That was Stevie Wonder's lyric. 820 00:42:09,083 --> 00:42:11,375 - The entire 2000 presidential campaign for Al Gore 821 00:42:11,458 --> 00:42:13,834 culminates on the sands of Miami Beach, 822 00:42:13,917 --> 00:42:18,000 the last rally of the campaign putting an exclamation point 823 00:42:18,083 --> 00:42:21,000 on the importance of Miami-Dade in this election. 824 00:42:21,083 --> 00:42:22,041 - I think this may be 825 00:42:22,125 --> 00:42:25,000 the most important election of my generation. 826 00:42:25,083 --> 00:42:28,291 - I didn't see Alex Penelas at that rally, by the way. 827 00:42:28,375 --> 00:42:30,709 - But will it make a difference? 828 00:42:30,792 --> 00:42:32,208 - Florida was it. 829 00:42:32,291 --> 00:42:34,625 Everyone on both campaigns 830 00:42:34,709 --> 00:42:36,834 knew it was coming down to Florida. 831 00:42:40,458 --> 00:42:42,500 - Good evening, and welcome 832 00:42:42,583 --> 00:42:45,625 to what promises to be a long and exciting night. 833 00:42:45,709 --> 00:42:46,917 - This being billed, 834 00:42:47,000 --> 00:42:49,083 as the polls close before the election, 835 00:42:49,166 --> 00:42:52,000 as the closest election in a generation. 836 00:42:52,083 --> 00:42:54,875 - What happens tonight will set the nation's next agenda 837 00:42:54,959 --> 00:42:56,250 for the 21st century. 838 00:42:56,333 --> 00:42:57,542 There are many who believe 839 00:42:57,625 --> 00:43:00,583 that this election is not just about the next four years, 840 00:43:00,667 --> 00:43:03,667 but it may well decide the direction of our country 841 00:43:03,750 --> 00:43:05,083 for the next generation. 842 00:43:05,166 --> 00:43:07,750 - I was in charge of election night in Austin, 843 00:43:07,834 --> 00:43:10,125 and we had a party-like atmosphere. 844 00:43:10,208 --> 00:43:13,417 As the returns were coming in, there was great joy. 845 00:43:13,500 --> 00:43:15,583 - Bush picks up his first state in the South, 846 00:43:15,667 --> 00:43:18,083 Gore gets his first win in New England, 847 00:43:18,166 --> 00:43:22,375 but no call yet in what both campaigns say may be the key 848 00:43:22,458 --> 00:43:24,083 to this election: Florida. 849 00:43:24,166 --> 00:43:25,417 That race, the heat from it 850 00:43:25,500 --> 00:43:29,083 is hot enough to peel house paint. 851 00:43:29,166 --> 00:43:31,083 - At 6:50, 852 00:43:31,166 --> 00:43:34,583 I am sitting in the Fort Lauderdale Airport 853 00:43:34,667 --> 00:43:38,250 to get on Southwest Airlines' flight to Nashville. 854 00:43:38,333 --> 00:43:40,875 - Our John King is with the Gore campaign in Nashville. 855 00:43:40,959 --> 00:43:43,250 - The polls were gonna close in ten minutes. 856 00:43:43,333 --> 00:43:44,542 - The presidential race 857 00:43:44,625 --> 00:43:47,083 is crackling like a hickory fire here. 858 00:43:47,166 --> 00:43:49,959 - All eyes on Florida at this hour, Tim. 859 00:43:50,041 --> 00:43:52,917 Both campaigns made an enormous investment there. 860 00:43:53,000 --> 00:43:55,959 - By the time we landed in Tampa, 861 00:43:56,041 --> 00:44:00,125 they declared Florida for Gore, and we're celebrating. 862 00:44:00,208 --> 00:44:01,583 - Let's take a look back. 863 00:44:01,667 --> 00:44:05,417 We have not heard one word tonight about Ralph Nader. 864 00:44:05,500 --> 00:44:07,041 - Mike, excuse me one second. 865 00:44:07,125 --> 00:44:08,333 I'm so sorry to interrupt you. 866 00:44:08,417 --> 00:44:10,458 Florida goes for Al Gore. 867 00:44:10,542 --> 00:44:12,625 - Al Gore wins the state of Florida, 868 00:44:12,709 --> 00:44:15,291 giving him the first big state momentum of the evening. 869 00:44:15,375 --> 00:44:16,625 - You can bet that Governor Bush 870 00:44:16,709 --> 00:44:18,291 will be madder than a rained-on rooster 871 00:44:18,375 --> 00:44:19,667 that his brother, the governor, 872 00:44:19,750 --> 00:44:21,625 wasn't able to carry this state for him. 873 00:44:21,709 --> 00:44:25,291 - That is a very, very, very important state for Al Gore, 874 00:44:25,375 --> 00:44:27,959 and now the pressure is on George W. Bush. 875 00:44:28,041 --> 00:44:30,041 - If Gore had lost Florida, 876 00:44:30,125 --> 00:44:32,333 you might be saying sayonara to his hopes. 877 00:44:32,417 --> 00:44:35,208 - All of a sudden, there were reports: 878 00:44:35,291 --> 00:44:38,375 "Well, there's issues. There are problems." 879 00:44:38,458 --> 00:44:40,333 - Passengers are getting off flights, 880 00:44:40,417 --> 00:44:43,458 emerging from their airborne information vacuums 881 00:44:43,542 --> 00:44:47,458 only to learn that Bush now appears to have the edge. 882 00:44:47,542 --> 00:44:49,500 - When we landed in Nashville, 883 00:44:49,583 --> 00:44:53,417 now they're not so sure that we won in Florida. 884 00:44:53,500 --> 00:44:57,458 - The Bush campaign is now contesting 885 00:44:57,542 --> 00:44:59,875 the projected victory for Al Gore 886 00:44:59,959 --> 00:45:02,333 in the state of Florida. 887 00:45:02,417 --> 00:45:04,500 - In the Austin hotel where Governor Bush 888 00:45:04,583 --> 00:45:06,500 is watching the results with his family, 889 00:45:06,583 --> 00:45:08,041 there is a strong sense 890 00:45:08,125 --> 00:45:11,333 that the race in Florida is not over. 891 00:45:11,417 --> 00:45:12,375 - Florida, for example, 892 00:45:12,458 --> 00:45:14,417 I'm gonna wait till they count all the votes. 893 00:45:14,500 --> 00:45:15,542 And I think America ought to wait 894 00:45:15,625 --> 00:45:18,500 before they count all the votes too. 895 00:45:18,583 --> 00:45:21,750 - What the networks give us, the networks taketh away. 896 00:45:21,834 --> 00:45:24,583 NBC News is now taking Florida 897 00:45:24,667 --> 00:45:27,834 out of Vice President Gore's column and putting it back 898 00:45:27,917 --> 00:45:30,500 in the "too close to call" column. 899 00:45:30,583 --> 00:45:32,250 - Florida is back in play. 900 00:45:32,333 --> 00:45:34,709 - Florida is back in the toss-up category. 901 00:45:34,792 --> 00:45:36,083 - Hoo, what a night. 902 00:45:36,166 --> 00:45:37,834 - It's too close to call. 903 00:45:37,917 --> 00:45:40,417 - It was either gonna be a tie 904 00:45:40,500 --> 00:45:42,917 or maybe a little advantage to Gore. 905 00:45:43,000 --> 00:45:45,083 Fox News changed the argument. 906 00:45:45,166 --> 00:45:46,875 - Fox News now projects 907 00:45:46,959 --> 00:45:48,542 George W. Bush the winner in Florida 908 00:45:48,625 --> 00:45:49,750 and thus, it appears, 909 00:45:49,834 --> 00:45:52,250 the winner of the presidency of the United States. 910 00:45:52,333 --> 00:45:55,125 - It was actually George Bush's cousin 911 00:45:55,208 --> 00:45:58,917 who made the call at Fox News. 912 00:45:59,000 --> 00:46:02,375 The other stations started to call it for Bush. 913 00:46:02,458 --> 00:46:04,250 - In a time of peace and prosperity like this, 914 00:46:04,333 --> 00:46:05,417 it's possible for the country... 915 00:46:05,500 --> 00:46:06,375 - Stop. Stop. 916 00:46:06,458 --> 00:46:07,375 - To have such a division as they do-- 917 00:46:07,458 --> 00:46:08,375 - Doris, Doris, Doris, Doris. 918 00:46:08,458 --> 00:46:09,959 George Bush is the president-elect 919 00:46:10,041 --> 00:46:10,959 of the United States. 920 00:46:11,041 --> 00:46:12,583 He has won the state of Florida. 921 00:46:12,667 --> 00:46:14,333 - ABC News is now going to project 922 00:46:14,417 --> 00:46:16,625 that Florida goes to Mr. Bush. 923 00:46:16,709 --> 00:46:19,250 - George Bush will become the 43rd president 924 00:46:19,333 --> 00:46:20,917 of the United States. 925 00:46:21,000 --> 00:46:22,750 - Sip it, savor it, cup it, 926 00:46:22,834 --> 00:46:25,083 photostat it, underline it in red, 927 00:46:25,166 --> 00:46:26,709 press it into a book, put it in the album, 928 00:46:26,792 --> 00:46:28,083 hang it on the wall: 929 00:46:28,166 --> 00:46:29,417 George Bush is the next president 930 00:46:29,500 --> 00:46:30,583 of the United States. 931 00:46:30,667 --> 00:46:33,583 - This is the scene in Austin, Texas, tonight. 932 00:46:33,667 --> 00:46:36,417 It's been a long, suspenseful evening. 933 00:46:36,500 --> 00:46:39,625 - Gore has, in fact, called president-elect Bush. 934 00:46:39,709 --> 00:46:42,083 No word on what was said in that conversation 935 00:46:42,166 --> 00:46:43,834 but that it was very direct. 936 00:46:43,917 --> 00:46:45,000 - Boom, 937 00:46:45,083 --> 00:46:48,625 he goes out and concedes an election that he has won. 938 00:46:48,709 --> 00:46:50,792 - Gore didn't want to hold up the nation. 939 00:46:50,875 --> 00:46:52,834 He's a Boy Scout in that regard. 940 00:46:52,917 --> 00:46:56,583 - Al Gore appeared to be conceding. 941 00:46:56,667 --> 00:47:00,625 - There was no documentary evidence that he has lost. 942 00:47:00,709 --> 00:47:02,125 - Why the hell would you concede? 943 00:47:02,208 --> 00:47:03,792 What do you have to lose? 944 00:47:03,875 --> 00:47:04,959 Just stay quiet. 945 00:47:05,041 --> 00:47:07,125 - We're told Gore is on his way here. 946 00:47:07,208 --> 00:47:09,333 Again, we were told that about 10, 15 minutes ago. 947 00:47:09,417 --> 00:47:10,333 We haven't seen him yet, 948 00:47:10,417 --> 00:47:12,041 but that is supposed to be soon. 949 00:47:12,125 --> 00:47:14,250 - Vice President Gore's motorcade 950 00:47:14,333 --> 00:47:18,333 is bound for the War Memorial, where he plans to admit defeat 951 00:47:18,417 --> 00:47:21,667 and say a few comforting words to his supporters. 952 00:47:21,750 --> 00:47:25,500 - I was one of the people to call up the vice president 953 00:47:25,583 --> 00:47:28,667 and I'm screaming in the phone, saying, "You can't concede! 954 00:47:28,750 --> 00:47:30,458 "There's still outstanding votes 955 00:47:30,542 --> 00:47:32,333 "that we still haven't counted. 956 00:47:32,417 --> 00:47:34,667 I don't care what the TV stations are saying." 957 00:47:34,750 --> 00:47:39,458 - The margin in Florida is now said to be a mere 600 votes. 958 00:47:39,542 --> 00:47:41,542 - Something screwy's going on in Florida. 959 00:47:41,625 --> 00:47:44,041 We know large amounts of precincts 960 00:47:44,125 --> 00:47:47,458 are not showing up on the secretary of state's website. 961 00:47:47,542 --> 00:47:49,625 - This is clearly no time for the vice president 962 00:47:49,709 --> 00:47:52,333 to make a public concession speech. 963 00:47:52,417 --> 00:47:54,542 - The votes hadn't been counted yet. 964 00:47:54,625 --> 00:47:56,792 The votes hadn't been counted yet. 965 00:47:56,875 --> 00:47:59,250 - Sir, sir, sir, it's urgent. 966 00:47:59,333 --> 00:48:00,500 - What is it, David? 967 00:48:00,583 --> 00:48:02,291 - Daley needs to speak to you. He just needs five minutes. 968 00:48:02,375 --> 00:48:03,417 - Look, I just spoke to Bush. 969 00:48:03,500 --> 00:48:04,583 He's waiting for me to give this speech. 970 00:48:04,667 --> 00:48:05,583 - Mr. Vice President. 971 00:48:05,667 --> 00:48:06,625 - I'm not gonna keep him waiting. 972 00:48:06,709 --> 00:48:08,041 - Please, Mr. Vice President. 973 00:48:08,125 --> 00:48:11,083 There's a problem with the numbers in Florida. 974 00:48:11,166 --> 00:48:15,041 - The crowd has gotten extremely quiet 975 00:48:15,125 --> 00:48:18,333 as journalists are discussing 976 00:48:18,417 --> 00:48:20,709 why the vice president has not come out 977 00:48:20,792 --> 00:48:22,375 and made the concession speech 978 00:48:22,458 --> 00:48:25,000 that they all expected him to make. 979 00:48:25,083 --> 00:48:27,166 - And then he took it back. 980 00:48:27,250 --> 00:48:29,834 - The vice president has re-called the governor 981 00:48:29,917 --> 00:48:31,875 and retracted his concession. 982 00:48:31,959 --> 00:48:34,083 - And I thought, "Oh, this is gonna be a shit show. 983 00:48:34,166 --> 00:48:36,208 This is gonna be a total shit show." 984 00:48:36,291 --> 00:48:39,583 - The race is not yet over. 985 00:48:39,667 --> 00:48:41,583 - "The circumstances have changed. 986 00:48:41,667 --> 00:48:43,125 "I need to withdraw my concession 987 00:48:43,208 --> 00:48:45,458 until the situation is clear," Gore says 988 00:48:45,542 --> 00:48:47,750 in what quickly becomes a tense call. 989 00:48:47,834 --> 00:48:49,625 Bush is said to be indignant. 990 00:48:49,709 --> 00:48:51,333 - I thought it was an interesting comment he made, 991 00:48:51,417 --> 00:48:53,417 and I felt like I was fully prepared 992 00:48:53,500 --> 00:48:55,792 to go out and give a speech 993 00:48:55,875 --> 00:48:58,250 and--thanking my supporters. 994 00:48:58,333 --> 00:49:00,375 - Sources close to Gore recall Bush 995 00:49:00,458 --> 00:49:03,041 saying his brother Jeb assured him he'd won. 996 00:49:03,125 --> 00:49:04,375 Gore responds, 997 00:49:04,458 --> 00:49:06,917 "Your little brother does not have the last word on this." 998 00:49:07,000 --> 00:49:10,375 - The Associated Press believes that the uncounted votes 999 00:49:10,458 --> 00:49:12,625 in Broward and Palm Beach Counties 1000 00:49:12,709 --> 00:49:14,917 could allow a change of the lead... 1001 00:49:15,000 --> 00:49:16,750 - Oh, my word. - In the Florida vote. 1002 00:49:18,000 --> 00:49:21,125 - Hello, 911? Cardiac arrest unit, please. 1003 00:49:23,875 --> 00:49:26,166 - Broward and Palm Beach are the uncounted votes. 1004 00:49:26,250 --> 00:49:28,500 What if this goes the other way? 1005 00:49:28,583 --> 00:49:32,125 - Well, it's only 3:17. 1006 00:49:32,208 --> 00:49:33,625 We're here. - Right. 1007 00:49:33,709 --> 00:49:34,834 - Cameras are hot. 1008 00:49:34,917 --> 00:49:36,959 - Folks, it's 3:30 in the morning here in the East, 1009 00:49:37,041 --> 00:49:40,375 but the excitement level has just risen once again. 1010 00:49:44,667 --> 00:49:47,000 - Let's go home. 1011 00:49:47,083 --> 00:49:48,291 - We're thinking we're gonna send you 1012 00:49:48,375 --> 00:49:49,458 some of our cold pizza. 1013 00:49:49,542 --> 00:49:51,125 Would that make you feel better? 1014 00:49:51,208 --> 00:49:53,166 - No. 1015 00:49:53,250 --> 00:49:55,834 - Tim gets his board out. 1016 00:49:55,917 --> 00:49:57,333 Uh... 1017 00:49:59,375 --> 00:50:00,792 Good grief. 1018 00:50:00,875 --> 00:50:02,625 - For those of you who went to bed or started-- 1019 00:50:02,709 --> 00:50:04,625 went off to brush your teeth and come back and say, 1020 00:50:04,709 --> 00:50:06,125 "Hello, what's this, Dan Rather?" 1021 00:50:06,208 --> 00:50:07,667 Well, I gotta tell you, folks. 1022 00:50:07,750 --> 00:50:09,041 I don't know. 1023 00:50:09,125 --> 00:50:11,166 I don't know anybody who does know. 1024 00:50:11,250 --> 00:50:13,041 - TV 3 control. 1025 00:50:13,125 --> 00:50:15,125 Okay, I want you to pull back Florida 1026 00:50:15,208 --> 00:50:18,041 and I want you to say it is equally probable 1027 00:50:18,125 --> 00:50:20,709 that either candidate can win in Florida. 1028 00:50:24,083 --> 00:50:25,625 - All right, we're officially saying 1029 00:50:25,709 --> 00:50:27,500 that Florida is too close to call. 1030 00:50:27,583 --> 00:50:30,834 - We are going to take Florida 1031 00:50:30,917 --> 00:50:34,500 back into the "too close to call" column. 1032 00:50:34,583 --> 00:50:38,333 - That means he is short of the 270 electoral votes 1033 00:50:38,417 --> 00:50:40,291 that he needs to win. 1034 00:50:40,375 --> 00:50:43,333 - Florida secretary of state says the margin in Florida-- 1035 00:50:43,417 --> 00:50:46,834 get this, folks, and hold on to the bedstead or something-- 1036 00:50:46,917 --> 00:50:50,250 629 votes. 1037 00:50:50,333 --> 00:50:52,875 We could be going to Recount City. 1038 00:50:52,959 --> 00:50:54,542 - Just an hour or so ago, 1039 00:50:54,625 --> 00:50:58,041 the TV networks called this race for Governor Bush. 1040 00:50:58,125 --> 00:51:00,750 It now appears-- 1041 00:51:00,834 --> 00:51:03,875 it now appears that their call was premature. 1042 00:51:05,834 --> 00:51:07,709 Under Florida state law, 1043 00:51:07,792 --> 00:51:10,208 this triggers an automatic recount. 1044 00:51:10,291 --> 00:51:12,542 Our campaign continues. 1045 00:51:16,291 --> 00:51:19,834 all: Recount! Recount! Recount! 1046 00:51:19,917 --> 00:51:24,041 Recount! Recount! Recount! Recount! 1047 00:51:24,125 --> 00:51:27,417 Recount! Recount! Recount! 1048 00:51:32,750 --> 00:51:35,917 - Once again, we're talking about Florida. 1049 00:51:36,000 --> 00:51:37,542 Controversy surrounding the vote 1050 00:51:37,625 --> 00:51:39,750 raises a myriad of issues about our democracy. 1051 00:51:39,834 --> 00:51:41,417 And while there is much disagreement 1052 00:51:41,500 --> 00:51:43,250 about how to proceed from here, 1053 00:51:43,333 --> 00:51:47,417 nearly everyone seems to agree on one thing, and that is 1054 00:51:47,500 --> 00:51:49,750 holy [bleep] [bleep]. 1055 00:51:58,166 --> 00:52:00,458 - This morning, we frankly still don't have a winner. 1056 00:52:00,542 --> 00:52:03,417 If you are just waking up and just tuning in, 1057 00:52:03,500 --> 00:52:06,917 you should know that after a long night of swing votes, 1058 00:52:07,000 --> 00:52:08,583 the presidential race is frankly 1059 00:52:08,667 --> 00:52:09,959 still too close to call. 1060 00:52:10,041 --> 00:52:11,500 - What's the problem with the election? 1061 00:52:11,583 --> 00:52:13,625 Voter fraud, Electoral College? 1062 00:52:13,709 --> 00:52:16,125 - The white man? 1063 00:52:16,208 --> 00:52:18,917 - All along, we thought there was a possibility 1064 00:52:19,000 --> 00:52:21,166 that George W. Bush might win the popular vote 1065 00:52:21,250 --> 00:52:23,250 but Al Gore could win the electoral vote. 1066 00:52:23,333 --> 00:52:26,625 As of right now, Al Gore has won the popular vote. 1067 00:52:26,709 --> 00:52:30,125 - Out of something like 97 million votes cast, 1068 00:52:30,208 --> 00:52:34,625 we're looking at a difference of 213,000 votes. 1069 00:52:34,709 --> 00:52:36,291 - But it is the Electoral College 1070 00:52:36,375 --> 00:52:37,458 that matters there. 1071 00:52:37,542 --> 00:52:39,458 George W. Bush could still win. 1072 00:52:39,542 --> 00:52:43,250 - They both are still short of the needed 270 1073 00:52:43,333 --> 00:52:46,083 because of the state of Florida. 1074 00:52:46,166 --> 00:52:47,625 - All that matters is Florida 1075 00:52:47,709 --> 00:52:50,667 because mathematically, it takes Florida's 25 votes 1076 00:52:50,750 --> 00:52:52,792 to put either man into the White House. 1077 00:52:52,875 --> 00:52:53,875 - In my mind, Gore would've won. 1078 00:52:53,959 --> 00:52:56,834 I mean, he won the popular vote. 1079 00:52:56,917 --> 00:52:57,834 - Right, Chris. 1080 00:52:57,917 --> 00:52:59,709 By the popular vote, the majority of the people 1081 00:52:59,792 --> 00:53:03,542 are saying, "We want Al Gore to be our next president." 1082 00:53:03,625 --> 00:53:07,375 But the Electoral College, which is run by the white man, 1083 00:53:07,458 --> 00:53:11,667 is saying, "We don't care what you niggas want." 1084 00:53:11,750 --> 00:53:14,500 - Almost 6 million votes in Florida. 1085 00:53:14,583 --> 00:53:17,375 987 separate the two candidates. 1086 00:53:17,458 --> 00:53:19,667 - And so as a result, the state of Florida, 1087 00:53:19,750 --> 00:53:23,625 by law, has gone to an automatic recount. 1088 00:53:23,709 --> 00:53:26,166 - You know, Florida has always been a troublemaker, 1089 00:53:26,250 --> 00:53:27,333 all year. 1090 00:53:27,417 --> 00:53:31,500 Hurricanes, Elián González, Alonzo Mourning's kidney, 1091 00:53:31,583 --> 00:53:33,667 'NSYNC, booty bass-- 1092 00:53:33,750 --> 00:53:35,750 all that shit's from Florida. 1093 00:53:35,834 --> 00:53:37,208 - Let's be clear, again, 1094 00:53:37,291 --> 00:53:40,041 whoever wins in Florida wins the White House. 1095 00:53:40,125 --> 00:53:42,166 - So what do you think the answer is? 1096 00:53:42,250 --> 00:53:45,375 - I think the answer is fuck Florida. 1097 00:53:49,959 --> 00:53:51,333 Chris, look. 1098 00:53:51,417 --> 00:53:53,041 It's right down there at the bottom. 1099 00:53:53,125 --> 00:53:56,500 All you gotta do, lop it off. 1100 00:53:56,583 --> 00:53:58,333 - Why can't we just cut this state adrift 1101 00:53:58,417 --> 00:54:00,041 and let it crash into Cuba? 1102 00:54:01,625 --> 00:54:04,667 - South America, take it away! 1103 00:54:04,750 --> 00:54:06,834 - Across Florida and the nation, 1104 00:54:06,917 --> 00:54:08,375 this cliff-hanger vote, to many, 1105 00:54:08,458 --> 00:54:09,709 like a sporting event. 1106 00:54:09,792 --> 00:54:13,667 At 9:00 a.m., Bush's lead stands at 941 votes. 1107 00:54:13,750 --> 00:54:17,625 By 11:23 a.m., 799 votes. 1108 00:54:17,709 --> 00:54:20,583 Then back up to 830 votes. 1109 00:54:20,667 --> 00:54:22,250 But by 12:30 p.m., 1110 00:54:22,333 --> 00:54:26,583 Bush's lead slips again to 795 votes. 1111 00:54:26,667 --> 00:54:31,917 2:30 p.m., Bush's lead down further to 787 votes. 1112 00:54:32,000 --> 00:54:36,917 By 4:25 p.m., Bush's lead plunges to 341 1113 00:54:37,000 --> 00:54:39,834 with only five more counties left to report. 1114 00:54:39,917 --> 00:54:43,250 - In a state as populous and diverse as Florida, 1115 00:54:43,333 --> 00:54:44,583 we were scratching our heads 1116 00:54:44,667 --> 00:54:46,750 to think that it could even be that close. 1117 00:54:46,834 --> 00:54:48,792 - Now to the woman who's in the crosshairs, 1118 00:54:48,875 --> 00:54:49,959 in the spotlight. 1119 00:54:50,041 --> 00:54:51,583 - Katherine Harris is about to learn 1120 00:54:51,667 --> 00:54:53,792 what real pressure is all about. 1121 00:54:53,875 --> 00:54:56,625 - She's the secretary of state, Katherine Harris. 1122 00:54:56,709 --> 00:54:58,959 - The Gore campaign has already compared her 1123 00:54:59,041 --> 00:55:00,792 to a Soviet commissar. 1124 00:55:00,875 --> 00:55:03,625 - Tonight the question of who will be the next president 1125 00:55:03,709 --> 00:55:05,792 is right on her desk. 1126 00:55:05,875 --> 00:55:09,875 - Katherine Harris was the chair of the Bush campaign 1127 00:55:09,959 --> 00:55:12,750 and she was the secretary of state. 1128 00:55:12,834 --> 00:55:14,291 - Harris was the state cochair 1129 00:55:14,375 --> 00:55:16,583 of George Bush's presidential campaign. 1130 00:55:16,667 --> 00:55:19,959 Today Governor Jeb Bush said she is doing a good job. 1131 00:55:20,041 --> 00:55:22,125 - I think she's doing the right thing. 1132 00:55:22,208 --> 00:55:25,458 - Two Democratic legislators told ABC News they now think 1133 00:55:25,542 --> 00:55:28,250 she is trying to hand the election to George Bush. 1134 00:55:28,333 --> 00:55:30,000 - Is there some concern in the Bush camp 1135 00:55:30,083 --> 00:55:32,291 that putting it in her hands, a Republican, 1136 00:55:32,375 --> 00:55:35,166 the cochairperson of the Bush campaign in Florida, 1137 00:55:35,250 --> 00:55:37,166 will tarnish the results? 1138 00:55:37,250 --> 00:55:40,375 - Your Governor Bush's co-campaign chair in Florida! 1139 00:55:40,458 --> 00:55:43,417 Seems to me you can be accused of political cronyism! 1140 00:55:43,500 --> 00:55:46,333 - Do I know who has officially won the election? 1141 00:55:46,417 --> 00:55:47,500 Yes. 1142 00:55:47,583 --> 00:55:49,875 Am I going to announce it? No. 1143 00:55:49,959 --> 00:55:53,500 Am I going to enjoy watching that Tennessee robot cry 1144 00:55:53,583 --> 00:55:54,875 when he hears the results? 1145 00:55:54,959 --> 00:55:57,041 Yes. 1146 00:55:57,125 --> 00:56:00,709 Does that make me partisan? I don't think so. 1147 00:56:00,792 --> 00:56:02,333 - So here you have the woman 1148 00:56:02,417 --> 00:56:05,667 who is responsible for counting the ballots, 1149 00:56:05,750 --> 00:56:08,667 who's like this with Jeb Bush. 1150 00:56:08,750 --> 00:56:11,834 - It's rather third world-like. 1151 00:56:11,917 --> 00:56:13,458 - In a clear sign 1152 00:56:13,542 --> 00:56:15,834 Democrats nor Republicans trust the other, 1153 00:56:15,917 --> 00:56:18,667 both parties are sending in former secretaries of state 1154 00:56:18,750 --> 00:56:20,083 to oversee the recount: 1155 00:56:20,166 --> 00:56:22,041 Warren Christopher for the Democrats, 1156 00:56:22,125 --> 00:56:24,417 James Baker for the Republicans. 1157 00:56:24,500 --> 00:56:28,083 - Warren Christopher sat us all down and said, 1158 00:56:28,166 --> 00:56:31,667 "This is the world's greatest democracy. 1159 00:56:31,750 --> 00:56:36,750 "We have a dispute about who is to be its next president. 1160 00:56:36,834 --> 00:56:41,083 "We will conduct ourselves, on our side of the ledger, 1161 00:56:41,166 --> 00:56:44,834 as if this is the world's greatest democracy." 1162 00:56:44,917 --> 00:56:48,250 - I don't see any threat to our Constitution. 1163 00:56:48,333 --> 00:56:51,583 Indeed, what we're doing is a constitutional process. 1164 00:56:51,667 --> 00:56:53,709 There's no constitutional crisis. 1165 00:56:53,792 --> 00:56:56,750 We're proceeding in accordance with the Constitution and laws 1166 00:56:56,834 --> 00:56:58,583 and will continue to do so. 1167 00:56:58,667 --> 00:56:59,667 - Warren Christopher, 1168 00:56:59,750 --> 00:57:02,417 who was virtually petrified by that time, 1169 00:57:02,500 --> 00:57:04,875 came down here thinking this was some kind of 1170 00:57:04,959 --> 00:57:08,542 high-minded constitutional debate. 1171 00:57:08,625 --> 00:57:10,125 He didn't understand Florida politics. 1172 00:57:10,208 --> 00:57:12,583 I'm not sure he understood politics at all. 1173 00:57:16,834 --> 00:57:20,041 - Is politics about uniting people? 1174 00:57:20,125 --> 00:57:22,542 - Politics is about winning. 1175 00:57:22,625 --> 00:57:26,250 - Roger Stone has always been a shadow figure 1176 00:57:26,333 --> 00:57:28,917 in the Republican Party nationally. 1177 00:57:29,000 --> 00:57:30,750 He's always been known 1178 00:57:30,834 --> 00:57:34,125 to be the fellow you would want to call if it's something 1179 00:57:34,208 --> 00:57:37,667 you didn't want anyone in your campaign to get close to. 1180 00:57:37,750 --> 00:57:40,875 - The assistant for Jim Baker called me and she said, 1181 00:57:40,959 --> 00:57:43,291 "Mr. Baker would like you to go to Florida 1182 00:57:43,375 --> 00:57:44,792 "and help on the recount. 1183 00:57:44,875 --> 00:57:46,625 How soon can you leave?" 1184 00:57:46,709 --> 00:57:48,458 - Beyond the closeness of the vote in Florida, 1185 00:57:48,542 --> 00:57:51,125 there are also questions about irregularities 1186 00:57:51,208 --> 00:57:52,250 at polling places 1187 00:57:52,333 --> 00:57:55,125 and alleged problems with the ballots themselves. 1188 00:57:55,208 --> 00:57:56,625 - So I packed my bags 1189 00:57:56,709 --> 00:58:00,291 and I headed first for Palm Beach County. 1190 00:58:00,375 --> 00:58:02,792 - In West Palm Beach, voters were protesting 1191 00:58:02,875 --> 00:58:05,750 what they say was a confusing ballot 1192 00:58:05,834 --> 00:58:07,917 and they want to vote again. 1193 00:58:08,000 --> 00:58:10,500 Al Gore's name appeared on the left, 1194 00:58:10,583 --> 00:58:13,333 Pat Buchanan's slightly above on the right. 1195 00:58:13,417 --> 00:58:15,875 Some say when they went to select Gore, 1196 00:58:15,959 --> 00:58:18,792 they mistakenly punched Buchanan. 1197 00:58:18,875 --> 00:58:21,291 - 19,000 ballots were tossed out 1198 00:58:21,375 --> 00:58:24,375 because they contained a double punch. 1199 00:58:24,458 --> 00:58:26,500 - Hundreds of voters take to the streets, 1200 00:58:26,583 --> 00:58:28,291 where election officials have tossed out 1201 00:58:28,375 --> 00:58:30,667 those 19,000 ballots punched twice 1202 00:58:30,750 --> 00:58:32,500 cast by voters like Robert Hurst. 1203 00:58:32,583 --> 00:58:36,959 - I cast a vote for Gore, but at the same time, 1204 00:58:37,041 --> 00:58:40,041 I must've punched the Buchanan column as well. 1205 00:58:40,125 --> 00:58:43,083 - Only an idiot would vote for Pat Buchanan by mistake. 1206 00:58:43,166 --> 00:58:44,375 - Butterfly ballots. - Right. 1207 00:58:44,458 --> 00:58:45,458 - And the little old ladies 1208 00:58:45,542 --> 00:58:47,709 who voted by error for Pat Buchanan, 1209 00:58:47,792 --> 00:58:49,333 it was the worst horror since the Holocaust, 1210 00:58:49,417 --> 00:58:50,500 and it was terrible. 1211 00:58:50,583 --> 00:58:52,542 - It's kind of caveat emptor. 1212 00:58:52,625 --> 00:58:54,834 I guess it is buyer beware. 1213 00:58:54,917 --> 00:58:57,333 - Are you suggesting they did not intend to vote 1214 00:58:57,417 --> 00:58:59,125 for Pat Buchanan? 1215 00:58:59,208 --> 00:59:01,875 - Pat Buchanan suggested they didn't intend to vote 1216 00:59:01,959 --> 00:59:03,333 for Pat Buchanan. 1217 00:59:03,417 --> 00:59:07,375 - If the two candidates they pushed were Buchanan and Gore, 1218 00:59:07,458 --> 00:59:12,208 almost certainly, those are Al Gore's votes and not mine. 1219 00:59:12,291 --> 00:59:13,917 - You know America's gone through a wormhole 1220 00:59:14,000 --> 00:59:16,375 when Pat Buchanan is the voice of fairness and reason. 1221 00:59:16,458 --> 00:59:21,709 I'm sorry, it just-- we are living in a freak zone. 1222 00:59:21,792 --> 00:59:24,375 - There was more than enough legal and political talent 1223 00:59:24,458 --> 00:59:26,625 to see Palm Beach through. 1224 00:59:26,709 --> 00:59:28,417 So I called Baker and I said, 1225 00:59:28,500 --> 00:59:31,375 "You know, everything here seems to be under control." 1226 00:59:31,458 --> 00:59:32,709 And he said, "Good. 1227 00:59:32,792 --> 00:59:34,542 "I want you to go down to Miami-Dade. 1228 00:59:34,625 --> 00:59:36,667 Things down there are really screwed up." 1229 00:59:39,291 --> 00:59:41,583 - If there was gonna be shenanigans and mischief, 1230 00:59:41,667 --> 00:59:43,375 it was likely to be in Miami-Dade, 1231 00:59:43,458 --> 00:59:47,542 so it made sense to go where it's likely to be stolen. 1232 00:59:47,625 --> 00:59:50,417 - He had this iconic moment, did Tim Russert, on NBC 1233 00:59:50,500 --> 00:59:52,125 when he said it all comes down 1234 00:59:52,208 --> 00:59:56,166 to Florida, Florida, Florida. 1235 00:59:56,792 --> 00:59:59,250 He might as well have said it all comes down 1236 00:59:59,333 --> 01:00:02,625 to Miami, Miami, Miami. 1237 01:00:04,333 --> 01:00:06,083 - All right, here is a quick summary 1238 01:00:06,166 --> 01:00:07,750 of today's major developments. 1239 01:00:07,834 --> 01:00:11,959 George W. Bush now leading Al Gore by just 290 votes. 1240 01:00:12,041 --> 01:00:15,750 This number will inevitably change before it's all over. 1241 01:00:15,834 --> 01:00:17,792 Which way, we simply do not know. 1242 01:00:17,875 --> 01:00:20,458 - A confident and determined Al Gore 1243 01:00:20,542 --> 01:00:22,000 making extremely clear 1244 01:00:22,083 --> 01:00:24,417 he is not close to conceding this election. 1245 01:00:24,500 --> 01:00:27,875 - When people cast votes, 1246 01:00:27,959 --> 01:00:30,917 the votes should be counted. 1247 01:00:31,000 --> 01:00:35,959 And there are more than enough uncounted votes 1248 01:00:36,041 --> 01:00:39,417 to decide the outcome of this election. 1249 01:00:39,500 --> 01:00:41,834 There are thousands of them, 1250 01:00:41,917 --> 01:00:44,291 and the margin is in the hundreds. 1251 01:00:44,375 --> 01:00:50,417 If you ignore the votes, you ignore democracy itself. 1252 01:00:50,500 --> 01:00:52,417 - One of the central issues of Al Gore's contest 1253 01:00:52,500 --> 01:00:55,333 of the Florida election involves thousands of ballots 1254 01:00:55,417 --> 01:00:57,667 in Miami-Dade and Palm Beach Counties 1255 01:00:57,750 --> 01:00:59,625 that showed no vote for president 1256 01:00:59,709 --> 01:01:01,667 in either the election night machine count 1257 01:01:01,750 --> 01:01:03,083 or the automatic recount. 1258 01:01:03,166 --> 01:01:06,667 Election professionals call these ballots undervotes. 1259 01:01:06,750 --> 01:01:07,750 - Miami-Dade County, 1260 01:01:07,834 --> 01:01:09,959 ground zero in the Gore campaign's search 1261 01:01:10,041 --> 01:01:11,625 for discarded votes. 1262 01:01:11,709 --> 01:01:14,500 More than 5% of the ballots here, say Democrats, 1263 01:01:14,583 --> 01:01:15,625 are in the drawer marked 1264 01:01:15,709 --> 01:01:17,792 "No vote for president--rejected." 1265 01:01:17,875 --> 01:01:20,208 Election officials call that an undervote. 1266 01:01:20,291 --> 01:01:22,500 - That's what's in the parlance called an undervote, 1267 01:01:22,583 --> 01:01:23,625 but it's a vote. 1268 01:01:23,709 --> 01:01:27,500 - At issue, about 10,750 ballots 1269 01:01:27,583 --> 01:01:29,375 that were counted by machines 1270 01:01:29,458 --> 01:01:33,000 without votes being recorded for either candidate. 1271 01:01:33,083 --> 01:01:35,000 - It makes absolutely no sense 1272 01:01:35,083 --> 01:01:38,667 that 10,000 people would go to the polls 1273 01:01:38,750 --> 01:01:42,667 during a presidential election and not vote for a president. 1274 01:01:42,750 --> 01:01:45,750 - People do not stand in line for seven hours 1275 01:01:45,834 --> 01:01:47,959 to vote for their city commissioner. 1276 01:01:48,041 --> 01:01:51,333 - Voters who choose not to cast a vote for president 1277 01:01:51,417 --> 01:01:53,709 have that right, 1278 01:01:53,792 --> 01:01:57,542 and no one else has the right to make their choice 1279 01:01:57,625 --> 01:01:59,208 for them. 1280 01:01:59,291 --> 01:02:02,542 - We found a flaw 1281 01:02:02,625 --> 01:02:05,917 in the machine design 1282 01:02:06,000 --> 01:02:10,333 that cost hundreds of votes 1283 01:02:10,417 --> 01:02:11,709 to Al Gore. 1284 01:02:11,792 --> 01:02:17,333 - Dade County had an antiquated IBM punch card voting system... 1285 01:02:22,500 --> 01:02:24,375 Which IBM will tell you 1286 01:02:24,458 --> 01:02:27,667 if you vote at the end of the day 1287 01:02:27,750 --> 01:02:30,041 and the machines aren't cleared out, 1288 01:02:30,125 --> 01:02:32,000 it will only show the dimple 1289 01:02:32,083 --> 01:02:35,375 because the card cannot punch all the way through 1290 01:02:35,458 --> 01:02:38,750 because the chads, as they're called, 1291 01:02:38,834 --> 01:02:40,500 are filling up the machine. 1292 01:02:40,583 --> 01:02:43,750 - The so-called pregnant or dimpled ballots-- 1293 01:02:43,834 --> 01:02:46,125 do they show voters' intent to select Gore, 1294 01:02:46,208 --> 01:02:47,750 as Democrats claim, 1295 01:02:47,834 --> 01:02:51,083 or are they simply an indentation on the ballot 1296 01:02:51,166 --> 01:02:54,750 from an indecisive voter, as Republicans claim? 1297 01:02:54,834 --> 01:02:56,583 - And that's why you had dimpled chads 1298 01:02:56,667 --> 01:02:58,750 and hanging chads and pregnant chads. 1299 01:02:58,834 --> 01:03:01,750 - The tiny bits of paper that could pick the president. 1300 01:03:01,834 --> 01:03:04,250 So much fuss over chad. 1301 01:03:04,333 --> 01:03:06,875 - Now to the land of the hanging chad. 1302 01:03:06,959 --> 01:03:08,166 - I had to go to the doctor today. 1303 01:03:08,250 --> 01:03:10,917 You know why? I have a hanging chad. 1304 01:03:11,000 --> 01:03:12,917 - The question of what to do with these ballots that are-- 1305 01:03:13,000 --> 01:03:15,083 - Pregnant or dimpled. 1306 01:03:15,166 --> 01:03:16,125 - Dimpled chads. 1307 01:03:16,208 --> 01:03:17,792 - Dimples, hanging chads. 1308 01:03:17,875 --> 01:03:19,458 - Oh, yes, there's a right to vote in this country. 1309 01:03:19,542 --> 01:03:21,083 There's not a right to indent, 1310 01:03:21,166 --> 01:03:22,709 and that's what a lot of people did. 1311 01:03:22,792 --> 01:03:24,792 - The race comes down to the chads. 1312 01:03:24,875 --> 01:03:26,625 - A large majority of the undervotes 1313 01:03:26,709 --> 01:03:30,625 came from underserviced counties. 1314 01:03:30,709 --> 01:03:33,250 They don't have the machines. 1315 01:03:33,333 --> 01:03:35,250 They don't have the personnel. 1316 01:03:35,333 --> 01:03:37,250 They don't clear out the chads. 1317 01:03:37,333 --> 01:03:40,458 Gore won these precincts. 1318 01:03:40,542 --> 01:03:43,125 Poor voters vote on poor voting machines. 1319 01:03:43,208 --> 01:03:44,583 Rich voters vote 1320 01:03:44,667 --> 01:03:46,875 on state-of-the-art voting machines. 1321 01:03:46,959 --> 01:03:48,792 Welcome to America. 1322 01:03:48,875 --> 01:03:51,417 - As the national debate over the vote count goes on, 1323 01:03:51,500 --> 01:03:54,667 the late-night comedians say, "Count us in." 1324 01:03:54,750 --> 01:03:57,792 - I wanna have an impromptu and candid conversation 1325 01:03:57,875 --> 01:03:59,500 totally off the cuff. 1326 01:03:59,583 --> 01:04:02,625 Just give my guys a second to set up the teleprompter. 1327 01:04:06,417 --> 01:04:08,291 - Okay, all right. 1328 01:04:08,375 --> 01:04:10,291 Everything's set, Mr. Vice President. 1329 01:04:10,375 --> 01:04:12,709 - This has been an extraordinary eight days 1330 01:04:12,792 --> 01:04:14,250 for the American people. 1331 01:04:14,333 --> 01:04:16,875 There is a simple reason that Florida law 1332 01:04:16,959 --> 01:04:18,333 and the law in many other states 1333 01:04:18,417 --> 01:04:21,542 calls for a careful check by real people 1334 01:04:21,625 --> 01:04:24,333 of the machine results in elections like this one. 1335 01:04:24,417 --> 01:04:25,875 - Governor Bush, 1336 01:04:25,959 --> 01:04:30,542 why have you consistently refused to meet with me 1337 01:04:30,625 --> 01:04:34,125 so we can end this political infighting? 1338 01:04:35,375 --> 01:04:36,625 - 'Cause. 1339 01:04:39,125 --> 01:04:40,291 - The reason? 1340 01:04:40,375 --> 01:04:42,500 Machines can sometimes misread 1341 01:04:42,583 --> 01:04:45,166 or fail to detect the ways ballots are cast. 1342 01:04:45,250 --> 01:04:46,875 And when there are serious doubts, 1343 01:04:46,959 --> 01:04:50,041 checking the machine count with a careful hand count 1344 01:04:50,125 --> 01:04:53,000 is accepted far and wide as the best way 1345 01:04:53,083 --> 01:04:55,375 to know the true intentions of the voters. 1346 01:04:55,458 --> 01:04:58,542 - Why can't we have all the counties in Florida 1347 01:04:58,625 --> 01:05:03,166 conduct a hand count so the will of the people is heard? 1348 01:05:03,250 --> 01:05:04,333 - 'Cause. 1349 01:05:04,417 --> 01:05:07,083 - Oh, come on, George. 1350 01:05:07,166 --> 01:05:10,542 - Democrats wanted to count the votes, 1351 01:05:10,625 --> 01:05:12,792 and Republicans did not. 1352 01:05:12,875 --> 01:05:15,041 We should both call on all our supporters 1353 01:05:15,125 --> 01:05:18,917 to prepare themselves to close ranks as Americans 1354 01:05:19,000 --> 01:05:21,583 and unite the country behind the winner 1355 01:05:21,667 --> 01:05:24,125 as soon as this process is completed. 1356 01:05:24,208 --> 01:05:25,667 - As the machines are still counting votes 1357 01:05:25,750 --> 01:05:27,083 in Florida today, 1358 01:05:27,166 --> 01:05:28,917 the Gore campaign ups the ante, 1359 01:05:29,000 --> 01:05:30,542 demanding hand counts. 1360 01:05:30,625 --> 01:05:34,250 - The issue was getting the votes counted. 1361 01:05:34,333 --> 01:05:36,583 The initial thing was to make sure 1362 01:05:36,667 --> 01:05:41,291 that the canvassing board would agree to recount. 1363 01:05:41,375 --> 01:05:44,250 - The Miami-Dade Canvassing Board was the focus 1364 01:05:44,333 --> 01:05:48,792 because they had more than 10,000 undervotes. 1365 01:05:48,875 --> 01:05:50,083 - Miami is unique in that 1366 01:05:50,166 --> 01:05:52,250 we don't have an elected secretary of election. 1367 01:05:52,333 --> 01:05:55,250 When something happens in a recount situation, 1368 01:05:55,333 --> 01:05:59,250 we actually have in place before election time 1369 01:05:59,333 --> 01:06:00,667 a three-judge panel. 1370 01:06:00,750 --> 01:06:01,959 Now, we call it a three-judge panel, 1371 01:06:02,041 --> 01:06:03,125 but they're not all judges. 1372 01:06:03,208 --> 01:06:07,625 - Lawrence King, David Leahy, and Myriam Lehr. 1373 01:06:07,709 --> 01:06:10,083 Leahy was the supervisor of elections, 1374 01:06:10,166 --> 01:06:12,834 and the other two were county judges. 1375 01:06:12,917 --> 01:06:16,166 - David Leahy reported to Mayor Penelas, 1376 01:06:16,250 --> 01:06:18,834 and the canvassing board was working on the 18th floor 1377 01:06:18,917 --> 01:06:22,458 of Government Center, which Mayor Penelas controlled. 1378 01:06:22,542 --> 01:06:25,083 - And they're in charge of setting the standards, 1379 01:06:25,166 --> 01:06:26,291 setting the rules. 1380 01:06:26,375 --> 01:06:29,250 - We don't have standards for looking at what is a vote 1381 01:06:29,333 --> 01:06:30,792 or what is not an un-- 1382 01:06:30,875 --> 01:06:32,417 or not a vote. 1383 01:06:32,500 --> 01:06:34,125 - They kind of make up the rules as they go a little bit. 1384 01:06:34,208 --> 01:06:38,417 - Three somewhat obscure Miami officials 1385 01:06:38,500 --> 01:06:41,083 suddenly had immense power. 1386 01:06:42,834 --> 01:06:44,417 - While Florida's other counties 1387 01:06:44,500 --> 01:06:47,375 started their recount almost immediately, 1388 01:06:47,458 --> 01:06:48,834 in Miami-Dade County, 1389 01:06:48,917 --> 01:06:50,667 something strange was going on. 1390 01:06:50,750 --> 01:06:54,792 - Quite frankly, based on what I heard, I don't feel prepared 1391 01:06:54,875 --> 01:06:58,291 to really give an intelligent answer. 1392 01:06:58,375 --> 01:07:00,709 - The votes were not being recounted. 1393 01:07:00,792 --> 01:07:02,458 - Somebody faxed to me an editorial 1394 01:07:02,542 --> 01:07:06,208 that was in the Havana newspaper 1395 01:07:06,291 --> 01:07:08,333 about the election in Florida, 1396 01:07:08,417 --> 01:07:11,500 and the headline was "Banana Republic." 1397 01:07:12,583 --> 01:07:14,333 Now, when the Cubans start making fun 1398 01:07:14,417 --> 01:07:16,834 of our election process... 1399 01:07:16,917 --> 01:07:20,000 - Elián went the wrong place. - Elián went--that's right. 1400 01:07:20,083 --> 01:07:24,000 - It's day 10 trillion in the Florida election debacle. 1401 01:07:24,083 --> 01:07:25,208 I say we give it one more week. 1402 01:07:25,291 --> 01:07:28,166 Then we give ourselves back to England. 1403 01:07:28,250 --> 01:07:30,333 - But now, under pressure from the Gore campaign, 1404 01:07:30,417 --> 01:07:32,208 Miami-Dade County has reversed course. 1405 01:07:32,291 --> 01:07:33,917 - This afternoon, the canvassing board 1406 01:07:34,000 --> 01:07:37,083 voted unanimously to go ahead and hold this hand count. 1407 01:07:37,166 --> 01:07:41,041 - I'll vote yes in concurrence with the recount of all ballots 1408 01:07:41,125 --> 01:07:43,166 in Dade County by hand... 1409 01:07:43,250 --> 01:07:45,375 - This is a huge victory for the Gore campaign. 1410 01:07:45,458 --> 01:07:46,583 - In Miami-Dade County, 1411 01:07:46,667 --> 01:07:49,083 election workers are preparing for the monumental task 1412 01:07:49,166 --> 01:07:52,208 of counting every ballot by hand. 1413 01:07:52,291 --> 01:07:55,375 - The seals cracked on the ballot trays in Miami-Dade 1414 01:07:55,458 --> 01:07:59,333 as, this morning, this county joins Broward and Palm Beach 1415 01:07:59,417 --> 01:08:01,250 in this huge undertaking. 1416 01:08:01,333 --> 01:08:05,041 - Look, everybody, it's... 1417 01:08:05,125 --> 01:08:07,041 Vice President Al Gore, everybody. 1418 01:08:07,125 --> 01:08:11,250 - I just want to say how excited I am to be here. 1419 01:08:11,333 --> 01:08:14,208 Conan, it's like that Gloria Gaynor song 1420 01:08:14,291 --> 01:08:16,625 "I Will Survive" 1421 01:08:16,709 --> 01:08:19,917 when she sings, "I will survive"... 1422 01:08:20,000 --> 01:08:21,917 - Yeah, okay. Yeah, I got that. Yeah. 1423 01:08:22,000 --> 01:08:25,041 - And then in that second verse when she sings, 1424 01:08:25,125 --> 01:08:28,917 "Every vote in Dade County must be counted." 1425 01:08:29,000 --> 01:08:31,250 - Sir, that's not in the song. 1426 01:08:31,333 --> 01:08:33,917 - It's in the live version. - No, it's not. 1427 01:08:34,000 --> 01:08:37,583 - George W. Bush filed the first lawsuit. 1428 01:08:37,667 --> 01:08:39,750 - The fate of the presidency hangs in the balance today 1429 01:08:39,834 --> 01:08:41,417 before Florida's Supreme Court. 1430 01:08:41,500 --> 01:08:43,875 This afternoon, attorneys for George W. Bush will argue 1431 01:08:43,959 --> 01:08:45,083 the hand recounts going on 1432 01:08:45,166 --> 01:08:48,250 in three heavily Democratic counties should be stopped. 1433 01:08:48,333 --> 01:08:50,583 Lawyers for Al Gore will try to persuade the justices 1434 01:08:50,667 --> 01:08:52,458 to let the hand counts continue 1435 01:08:52,542 --> 01:08:54,959 and to include them in Florida's final tally. 1436 01:08:55,041 --> 01:08:57,291 - I just assumed that by November 20th, 1437 01:08:57,375 --> 01:08:59,125 the election would be over with, 1438 01:08:59,208 --> 01:09:01,625 but I guess not. 1439 01:09:01,709 --> 01:09:03,959 - With his presidential hopes on hold, 1440 01:09:04,041 --> 01:09:07,041 George W. Bush went back to the Texas capital today, 1441 01:09:07,125 --> 01:09:09,750 turning a day at the office into a photo op, 1442 01:09:09,834 --> 01:09:11,750 his troops aggressively challenging 1443 01:09:11,834 --> 01:09:14,125 Vice President Gore's in and out of court. 1444 01:09:14,208 --> 01:09:16,750 Their main goal: to thoroughly discredit 1445 01:09:16,834 --> 01:09:19,792 the ballot-counting process as flawed and corrupted. 1446 01:09:19,875 --> 01:09:22,792 What they don't say is that they also fear that a recount 1447 01:09:22,875 --> 01:09:25,834 could give the edge to Vice President Al Gore. 1448 01:09:25,917 --> 01:09:29,083 - While Democrats are sitting around trying to figure out 1449 01:09:29,166 --> 01:09:31,709 how to do the right thing, 1450 01:09:31,792 --> 01:09:34,834 Republicans are figuring out how to win. 1451 01:09:34,917 --> 01:09:36,166 - It was a three-pronged effort, 1452 01:09:36,250 --> 01:09:38,500 what I call a stool. 1453 01:09:38,583 --> 01:09:41,000 And the three legs that we saw was the courts, 1454 01:09:41,083 --> 01:09:42,959 the recount, and then the street. 1455 01:09:46,917 --> 01:09:49,000 - We'll bring more. We'll bring more. 1456 01:09:49,083 --> 01:09:50,333 - Camped out in a motor home 1457 01:09:50,417 --> 01:09:52,500 in the middle of the media staging area, 1458 01:09:52,583 --> 01:09:54,458 you would think they would want to talk 1459 01:09:54,542 --> 01:09:55,458 about their mission. 1460 01:09:55,542 --> 01:09:56,875 - It's a Bush operation. 1461 01:09:56,959 --> 01:09:58,333 - It's a Bush operation? - Yeah. 1462 01:09:58,417 --> 01:09:59,834 - What goes on inside this trailer? 1463 01:09:59,917 --> 01:10:02,709 - Oh, I can't talk to you right now. 1464 01:10:02,792 --> 01:10:06,041 - In all, an army of 75 operatives came to Miami 1465 01:10:06,125 --> 01:10:07,917 to shape public opinion. 1466 01:10:08,000 --> 01:10:10,333 - I would have a motor home and use it as a staging area 1467 01:10:10,417 --> 01:10:13,041 and also as a place for us to work out of. 1468 01:10:13,125 --> 01:10:16,041 - You had to show a physical presence. 1469 01:10:16,125 --> 01:10:20,083 You had to show grassroots support for your point of view. 1470 01:10:20,166 --> 01:10:22,166 - If you want to sway public opinion, 1471 01:10:22,250 --> 01:10:23,875 then you have to take it to the people. 1472 01:10:23,959 --> 01:10:25,875 We have freedom of speech too! 1473 01:10:25,959 --> 01:10:27,333 And we're watching you! 1474 01:10:27,417 --> 01:10:30,041 You're not gonna steal this election! 1475 01:10:30,125 --> 01:10:31,083 We were fighting for victory, 1476 01:10:31,166 --> 01:10:33,875 and we weren't going to be outmaneuvered. 1477 01:10:33,959 --> 01:10:37,000 - This was ground zero, and the whole election 1478 01:10:37,083 --> 01:10:40,834 would end up hinging on what happened in Miami-Dade. 1479 01:10:40,917 --> 01:10:43,542 - We wanted to take this to farce 1480 01:10:43,625 --> 01:10:45,667 because it was so farcical. 1481 01:10:45,750 --> 01:10:47,583 - We had T-shirts printed. 1482 01:10:47,667 --> 01:10:49,875 Every couple days, we had different slogans: 1483 01:10:49,959 --> 01:10:53,417 "Don't be had by a chad." "Who let the chads out?" 1484 01:10:53,500 --> 01:10:56,625 And I had one of those shirts made with a banana on it 1485 01:10:56,709 --> 01:10:59,041 saying that Florida is a banana republic. 1486 01:10:59,125 --> 01:11:00,375 - I didn't know who came up 1487 01:11:00,458 --> 01:11:04,875 with the Sore-Loserman logo and sign, but it was brilliant. 1488 01:11:04,959 --> 01:11:07,083 - I came up with the slogan of "Sore-Loserman," 1489 01:11:07,166 --> 01:11:09,083 which is a take on "Gore-Lieberman." 1490 01:11:09,166 --> 01:11:11,417 By doing that, it also created enthusiasm, 1491 01:11:11,500 --> 01:11:13,750 and people were coming down for the spectacle 1492 01:11:13,834 --> 01:11:14,917 and the theater. 1493 01:11:15,000 --> 01:11:17,500 - And the Republicans used Cuban talk radio 1494 01:11:17,583 --> 01:11:19,291 to mobilize their foot soldiers 1495 01:11:19,375 --> 01:11:21,792 to Government Center in downtown Miami. 1496 01:11:21,875 --> 01:11:24,291 - Spanish-language radio in Miami-Dade 1497 01:11:24,375 --> 01:11:27,417 is enormously powerful and very effective 1498 01:11:27,500 --> 01:11:28,583 and extremely efficient 1499 01:11:28,667 --> 01:11:31,750 at reaching precisely the people you want to reach. 1500 01:11:31,834 --> 01:11:35,208 - There was something still that was burning 1501 01:11:35,291 --> 01:11:40,166 inside the souls of so many Cuban Americans. 1502 01:11:45,542 --> 01:11:47,166 - 'Cause it was pretty powerless 1503 01:11:47,250 --> 01:11:49,709 when Elián was taken away. 1504 01:11:49,792 --> 01:11:54,500 They felt they had been betrayed. 1505 01:11:54,583 --> 01:11:55,667 Now we can get something. 1506 01:11:55,750 --> 01:11:57,792 Now we can stomp our feet 1507 01:11:57,875 --> 01:12:01,333 and stop Al Gore from becoming president. 1508 01:12:01,417 --> 01:12:04,667 - My wife, who is a fluent Spanish speaker, did a tour 1509 01:12:04,750 --> 01:12:07,667 of the Spanish-language radio stations, 1510 01:12:07,750 --> 01:12:10,417 and they were likening the situation in Miami-Dade 1511 01:12:10,500 --> 01:12:12,333 to the situation in Havana. 1512 01:12:12,417 --> 01:12:15,625 This is a takeover like when Fidel took over. 1513 01:12:15,709 --> 01:12:20,333 - And in the same way that Elián González had been stolen 1514 01:12:20,417 --> 01:12:24,458 and sent back to Cuba, the election was being stolen 1515 01:12:24,542 --> 01:12:26,625 and a call for many Cuban Americans 1516 01:12:26,709 --> 01:12:28,458 to go to defend the ballots 1517 01:12:28,542 --> 01:12:31,959 in the way they couldn't defend Elián González. 1518 01:12:32,041 --> 01:12:33,834 - The messaging, first and foremost, 1519 01:12:33,917 --> 01:12:35,041 is, Bush won. 1520 01:12:35,125 --> 01:12:37,333 The messaging is that Democrats 1521 01:12:37,417 --> 01:12:40,500 are trying to overturn a national election, 1522 01:12:40,583 --> 01:12:43,333 and one very popular message from the Cuban community 1523 01:12:43,417 --> 01:12:45,834 was, you know, this was a coup. 1524 01:12:45,917 --> 01:12:49,125 - It's overheated rhetoric. It worked extremely well. 1525 01:12:49,208 --> 01:12:52,792 - Bush for president! Bush number one! 1526 01:12:52,875 --> 01:12:56,667 - The talk in Miami at the time was that somehow, 1527 01:12:56,750 --> 01:13:01,917 the Gore faction were going to steal the election. 1528 01:13:02,000 --> 01:13:04,375 - If I'm about to steal an election, 1529 01:13:04,458 --> 01:13:07,375 the first thing I'm gonna do is say, 1530 01:13:07,458 --> 01:13:09,750 "They are going to steal." 1531 01:13:09,834 --> 01:13:12,709 - We'd like America to know 1532 01:13:12,792 --> 01:13:17,083 how the presidential election is being stolen 1533 01:13:17,166 --> 01:13:21,208 at this time in Miami-Dade County, Florida. 1534 01:13:21,291 --> 01:13:22,875 - It started to become apparent-- 1535 01:13:22,959 --> 01:13:25,333 even someone like myself, who voted for Bush 1536 01:13:25,417 --> 01:13:29,500 and wanted Bush to win in part because of Elián-- 1537 01:13:29,583 --> 01:13:31,875 something strange was going on, 1538 01:13:31,959 --> 01:13:34,208 and it wasn't necessarily 1539 01:13:34,291 --> 01:13:36,083 the message that we were being given 1540 01:13:36,166 --> 01:13:39,542 that somehow the Democrats were the ones 1541 01:13:39,625 --> 01:13:41,250 who were doing the coup. 1542 01:13:41,333 --> 01:13:42,333 It was the other way around. 1543 01:13:45,125 --> 01:13:47,834 If you say Bush won, 1544 01:13:47,917 --> 01:13:49,792 then everybody's gonna say, "Oh, Bush won, 1545 01:13:49,875 --> 01:13:51,875 and these guys are trying to steal the election." 1546 01:13:51,959 --> 01:13:53,792 See, it's all about what you call it. 1547 01:13:53,875 --> 01:13:56,291 And, man, Republicans are so good at that. 1548 01:13:56,375 --> 01:14:01,458 They're just better at manipulating the situation 1549 01:14:01,542 --> 01:14:05,542 to put themselves in a place where they're seen 1550 01:14:05,625 --> 01:14:10,458 as the winners and the victims at the same time. 1551 01:14:10,542 --> 01:14:14,250 - All Americans want a fair and accurate 1552 01:14:14,333 --> 01:14:16,917 count of the votes in Florida. 1553 01:14:17,000 --> 01:14:19,417 And I believe if there is a fair and accurate count 1554 01:14:19,500 --> 01:14:21,583 of the votes in Florida, 1555 01:14:21,667 --> 01:14:23,125 we will prevail. 1556 01:14:23,208 --> 01:14:25,792 - Gore underestimated the Bush campaign. 1557 01:14:25,875 --> 01:14:27,625 He fought in the courts 1558 01:14:27,709 --> 01:14:29,291 and he fought in the recount center, 1559 01:14:29,375 --> 01:14:32,125 but he actually told his people to stand down 1560 01:14:32,208 --> 01:14:33,792 and not turn out in the streets. 1561 01:14:33,875 --> 01:14:35,709 He did it to his peril. 1562 01:14:35,792 --> 01:14:39,583 - I was advised that Reverend Jackson said, 1563 01:14:39,667 --> 01:14:41,583 "We're gonna take to the streets." 1564 01:14:41,667 --> 01:14:43,125 and Vice President Gore said, 1565 01:14:43,208 --> 01:14:46,959 "If you take to the streets, there's potential for violence. 1566 01:14:47,041 --> 01:14:49,000 Please don't do that." 1567 01:14:49,083 --> 01:14:52,625 - We were sure that we were gonna be met with street brawls 1568 01:14:52,709 --> 01:14:54,667 outside the recount centers 1569 01:14:54,750 --> 01:14:57,500 and that we were probably gonna be overrun, 1570 01:14:57,583 --> 01:14:58,792 and it never came to that. 1571 01:14:58,875 --> 01:15:03,166 - This kind of thoughtful, conscientious liberalism, 1572 01:15:03,250 --> 01:15:07,125 they're just completely played up for the other side. 1573 01:15:07,208 --> 01:15:08,166 - Good to see you. 1574 01:15:08,250 --> 01:15:09,875 - It is good to see you, my friend. 1575 01:15:15,375 --> 01:15:17,875 - They turned out to be wusses. 1576 01:15:17,959 --> 01:15:21,291 They got their ass beaten by the Republicans. 1577 01:15:22,625 --> 01:15:25,834 - The recount in Florida was a street brawl 1578 01:15:25,917 --> 01:15:28,000 for the presidency of the United States. 1579 01:15:28,083 --> 01:15:30,375 - And for more now on what's happening today in Florida, 1580 01:15:30,458 --> 01:15:32,000 we're gonna go back to our Bill Hemmer, 1581 01:15:32,083 --> 01:15:33,333 who's still in Tallahassee. 1582 01:15:33,417 --> 01:15:34,959 Hi, Bill. - Hey, guys. 1583 01:15:35,041 --> 01:15:37,208 It's starting to rain. 1584 01:15:37,291 --> 01:15:38,375 Bummer. 1585 01:15:38,458 --> 01:15:40,041 - The question of what to do with these ballots 1586 01:15:40,125 --> 01:15:42,917 that are dimpled or pregnant will take center stage 1587 01:15:43,000 --> 01:15:45,709 in the courtroom right behind me later this morning. 1588 01:15:45,792 --> 01:15:48,875 A judge is going to be asked by the Democratic Party 1589 01:15:48,959 --> 01:15:53,542 to order elections officials to make those ballots count. 1590 01:15:53,625 --> 01:15:56,208 - Late into the night, the court worked. 1591 01:15:56,291 --> 01:15:58,000 A crush grew outside-- 1592 01:15:58,083 --> 01:16:00,792 tired, cold, anticipating an answer. 1593 01:16:00,875 --> 01:16:03,208 Four hours after sundown, it came. 1594 01:16:03,291 --> 01:16:05,709 - The court holds that amended certifications 1595 01:16:05,792 --> 01:16:07,333 from the county canvassing boards 1596 01:16:07,417 --> 01:16:10,709 must be accepted by the Election Canvassing Commission 1597 01:16:10,792 --> 01:16:13,834 through 5:00 p.m. on November 26th 1598 01:16:13,917 --> 01:16:16,375 if the secretary of state's office is open 1599 01:16:16,458 --> 01:16:17,542 for the special purpose 1600 01:16:17,625 --> 01:16:19,709 of receiving amended certifications. 1601 01:16:19,792 --> 01:16:21,959 - So the recounts will count. 1602 01:16:22,041 --> 01:16:24,083 It's a victory for the Democrats. 1603 01:16:24,166 --> 01:16:26,667 - In Miami-Dade, the biggest problem now: 1604 01:16:26,750 --> 01:16:29,041 meeting that five-day deadline. 1605 01:16:29,125 --> 01:16:30,583 With a break for Thanksgiving, 1606 01:16:30,667 --> 01:16:33,959 they had planned on finishing ten days from now. 1607 01:16:34,041 --> 01:16:35,959 - I think that Thanksgiving's gonna be disrupted 1608 01:16:36,041 --> 01:16:38,208 for a lot of very dedicated public servants, 1609 01:16:38,291 --> 01:16:40,417 but we all know how important this is, 1610 01:16:40,500 --> 01:16:43,375 we all know the stakes, and we all want it done right. 1611 01:16:43,458 --> 01:16:46,750 - The Bush campaign fears it could result in a victory 1612 01:16:46,834 --> 01:16:48,709 for Democrat Al Gore. 1613 01:16:48,792 --> 01:16:49,750 - I firmly believe 1614 01:16:49,834 --> 01:16:52,083 that the will of the people should prevail, 1615 01:16:52,166 --> 01:16:55,125 and I am gratified that the court's decision will allow us 1616 01:16:55,208 --> 01:16:57,625 to honor that simple constitutional principle. 1617 01:17:23,208 --> 01:17:25,000 - In Dade County, the undercount, 1618 01:17:25,083 --> 01:17:27,458 ballots with holes not completely punched through, 1619 01:17:27,542 --> 01:17:29,208 will be examined individually 1620 01:17:29,291 --> 01:17:30,667 by the county's canvassing board. 1621 01:17:30,750 --> 01:17:33,959 - The rules were changing minute by minute. 1622 01:17:34,041 --> 01:17:35,500 - You don't know what you're doing. 1623 01:17:35,583 --> 01:17:39,834 You count his votes. You count her votes over there. 1624 01:17:39,917 --> 01:17:42,083 Excuse me, did you count-- 1625 01:17:42,166 --> 01:17:45,625 if you're not sure if a person meant to vote 1626 01:17:45,709 --> 01:17:49,083 for what they did, you put it in the milk. 1627 01:17:49,166 --> 01:17:51,458 - Republican fears and Democratic hopes 1628 01:17:51,542 --> 01:17:52,792 ride on these ballots, 1629 01:17:52,875 --> 01:17:56,208 an estimated 10,700 set aside, 1630 01:17:56,291 --> 01:17:59,125 not counted because the machines couldn't read them. 1631 01:17:59,208 --> 01:18:00,500 - This has caused some consternation 1632 01:18:00,583 --> 01:18:01,500 among the Bush camp. 1633 01:18:05,417 --> 01:18:06,875 - We had a meeting in the trailer, 1634 01:18:06,959 --> 01:18:09,875 and they were telling us what was about to unfold 1635 01:18:09,959 --> 01:18:12,041 if Gore got ahead, 1636 01:18:12,125 --> 01:18:13,667 that it would change the dynamic 1637 01:18:13,750 --> 01:18:16,959 of not only the recount but also the PR effort. 1638 01:18:17,041 --> 01:18:18,667 - I was working out of a trailer. 1639 01:18:18,750 --> 01:18:22,000 I was using a walkie-talkie that worked not terribly well 1640 01:18:22,083 --> 01:18:25,709 to keep in touch with my contacts inside. 1641 01:18:25,792 --> 01:18:30,000 All we wanted in Miami-Dade was for the count to be over. 1642 01:18:30,083 --> 01:18:32,667 - I said, "Well, why don't we do what Democrats would do? 1643 01:18:32,750 --> 01:18:36,208 Why don't we do some civil disobedience?" 1644 01:18:36,291 --> 01:18:41,208 - I was on the 18th floor working on the recount, 1645 01:18:41,291 --> 01:18:43,542 and the next thing you know, the elevator doors open. 1646 01:18:51,625 --> 01:18:52,709 And then they started chanting. 1647 01:18:52,792 --> 01:18:54,875 - Stop the count! Stop the fraud! 1648 01:18:54,959 --> 01:18:56,875 Stop the count! Stop the fraud! 1649 01:18:56,959 --> 01:18:59,041 all: Stop the count! Stop the fraud! 1650 01:18:59,125 --> 01:19:00,542 - Can I have everybody's attention? 1651 01:19:00,625 --> 01:19:02,667 There's a full protest out in the lobby, 1652 01:19:02,750 --> 01:19:04,375 and I think it could escalate out of control. 1653 01:19:04,458 --> 01:19:06,542 all: Let us in! Let us in! 1654 01:19:06,625 --> 01:19:09,166 - Republican demonstrators stormed the hallways 1655 01:19:09,250 --> 01:19:11,875 and demanded access to the recount room. 1656 01:19:11,959 --> 01:19:13,041 all: Let us in! 1657 01:19:13,125 --> 01:19:15,542 - They were shouting and yelling. 1658 01:19:15,625 --> 01:19:16,792 all: Let us see the ballots! 1659 01:19:16,875 --> 01:19:18,083 Let us see the ballots! 1660 01:19:18,166 --> 01:19:20,417 - And then they started pounding the glass. 1661 01:19:20,500 --> 01:19:22,959 all: The world is watching! The world is watching! 1662 01:19:23,041 --> 01:19:24,291 The world is watching! 1663 01:19:24,375 --> 01:19:27,625 - And that's when we said, "What the fuck is this?" 1664 01:19:27,709 --> 01:19:30,542 - This whole thing turned into un arroz con mango, 1665 01:19:30,625 --> 01:19:32,917 which is Cuban slang for clusterfuck. 1666 01:19:33,000 --> 01:19:36,083 all: Voter fraud! Voter fraud! Voter fraud! 1667 01:19:36,166 --> 01:19:38,709 - Who are these people, and what are they doing? 1668 01:19:38,792 --> 01:19:41,500 all: Let us in! Let us in! Let us in! 1669 01:19:41,583 --> 01:19:42,834 - And in the middle of this, 1670 01:19:42,917 --> 01:19:45,250 I go up to this very thick window and I said... 1671 01:19:45,333 --> 01:19:47,709 Hi, I'm a lawyer with the recount. 1672 01:19:47,792 --> 01:19:49,917 I need a sample ballot, please. 1673 01:19:50,000 --> 01:19:51,917 - I got a report from my contact 1674 01:19:52,000 --> 01:19:56,417 that a Democratic official and an unidentified man 1675 01:19:56,500 --> 01:19:59,458 were trying to take a sheaf of ballots... 1676 01:19:59,542 --> 01:20:00,792 - And it's marked, by the way, 1677 01:20:00,875 --> 01:20:05,166 "Official Democratic Party Training Ballot." 1678 01:20:05,250 --> 01:20:06,458 It's a sample ballot. 1679 01:20:06,542 --> 01:20:10,291 - Into an anteroom to the side that had no windows 1680 01:20:10,375 --> 01:20:12,166 in which there were no observers. 1681 01:20:12,250 --> 01:20:14,834 - And there was this one Republican woman, 1682 01:20:14,917 --> 01:20:19,125 and she looks at me, and in a loud voice, she says... 1683 01:20:19,208 --> 01:20:24,125 - He stole a ballot! - "He stole a ballot!" 1684 01:20:24,208 --> 01:20:25,500 - Stealing a ballot! 1685 01:20:27,208 --> 01:20:28,625 - I'm a lawyer. 1686 01:20:28,709 --> 01:20:30,834 - You can't take that! 1687 01:20:30,917 --> 01:20:35,291 - The mob turns right on me. 1688 01:20:35,375 --> 01:20:37,417 - Republicans accuse Joe Geller, 1689 01:20:37,500 --> 01:20:39,000 the chairman of the Democratic Party, 1690 01:20:39,083 --> 01:20:41,667 of stealing a ballot as a chase ensues. 1691 01:20:41,750 --> 01:20:46,625 - He's being confronted by these kind of thuggish guys. 1692 01:20:46,709 --> 01:20:48,875 - It was pretty--pretty scary. 1693 01:20:48,959 --> 01:20:50,166 People were yelling and screaming 1694 01:20:50,250 --> 01:20:54,375 and actually physically pushing and jumping right into me. 1695 01:20:54,458 --> 01:20:56,917 - Where is all the Republicans? 1696 01:20:57,000 --> 01:21:00,625 - I just thought really that I was gonna get knocked down 1697 01:21:00,709 --> 01:21:04,041 and stomped and that maybe that would be the end of me. 1698 01:21:04,125 --> 01:21:07,291 all: Thief! Thief! Thief! Thief! 1699 01:21:07,375 --> 01:21:10,000 - Those were the pictures that were being played 1700 01:21:10,083 --> 01:21:13,500 all over the nation as Miami being a banana republic. 1701 01:21:13,583 --> 01:21:17,250 all: Let us in! Let us in! Let us in! 1702 01:21:17,333 --> 01:21:20,041 - The people inside were terrified. 1703 01:21:20,125 --> 01:21:21,417 all: The world is watching! 1704 01:21:21,500 --> 01:21:24,542 The world is watching! The world is watching! 1705 01:21:24,625 --> 01:21:26,208 - Given Miami's history, 1706 01:21:26,291 --> 01:21:28,709 where taking the wrong side of a political issue 1707 01:21:28,792 --> 01:21:31,375 might cost you your limb or your life, 1708 01:21:31,458 --> 01:21:34,000 they were right to be scared. 1709 01:21:34,083 --> 01:21:36,041 - I called Alex Penelas and I said, 1710 01:21:36,125 --> 01:21:39,083 "Alex, I am on my way, 1711 01:21:39,166 --> 01:21:42,041 and you and I have to stop this." 1712 01:21:42,125 --> 01:21:45,417 And he said, "No, don't come. I'm not gonna get involved." 1713 01:21:46,667 --> 01:21:48,291 - Penelas certainly had a moment 1714 01:21:48,375 --> 01:21:49,709 where he could've walked in and said, 1715 01:21:49,792 --> 01:21:51,542 "We're doing what's right." 1716 01:21:51,625 --> 01:21:53,375 - He could've called the police department. 1717 01:21:53,458 --> 01:21:55,000 They would've moved those people out. 1718 01:21:55,083 --> 01:21:57,709 He just--he just melted. 1719 01:21:57,792 --> 01:22:01,583 - It's unclear what the actions of Alex Penelas, 1720 01:22:01,667 --> 01:22:04,458 who was then the county mayor-- 1721 01:22:04,542 --> 01:22:07,000 couldn't really figure out where he was. 1722 01:22:08,208 --> 01:22:10,709 - Again, where was the mayor? 1723 01:22:10,792 --> 01:22:12,750 - The invisible Alex Penelas, 1724 01:22:12,834 --> 01:22:16,542 who just seemed to come and then go. 1725 01:22:16,625 --> 01:22:17,542 - Around that time, 1726 01:22:17,625 --> 01:22:19,792 Alex Penelas was in Tallahassee, 1727 01:22:19,875 --> 01:22:22,583 and according to reports, he was caucusing. 1728 01:22:22,667 --> 01:22:25,375 He was meeting with Republicans. 1729 01:22:25,458 --> 01:22:27,000 Republicans, mind you. 1730 01:22:27,083 --> 01:22:29,250 - Al Cardenas was the chairman 1731 01:22:29,333 --> 01:22:32,375 of the Florida Republican Party. 1732 01:22:32,458 --> 01:22:35,792 Alex Penelas' people were talking with him, 1733 01:22:35,875 --> 01:22:38,917 and there was speculation that Alex was meeting 1734 01:22:39,000 --> 01:22:43,125 with Mario Diaz-Balart, then a very powerful state lawmaker 1735 01:22:43,208 --> 01:22:45,125 who in fact had a big hand 1736 01:22:45,208 --> 01:22:47,375 in drawing congressional districts 1737 01:22:47,458 --> 01:22:50,625 and was going to be drawing them for the 2002 election, 1738 01:22:50,709 --> 01:22:53,083 that they would carve out a congressional district 1739 01:22:53,166 --> 01:22:55,542 for Alex Penelas, a Democrat. 1740 01:22:57,250 --> 01:22:59,041 - I... 1741 01:23:01,583 --> 01:23:03,625 I don't--I don't-- 1742 01:23:08,041 --> 01:23:09,083 Very interesting. 1743 01:23:09,166 --> 01:23:11,083 I don't-- 1744 01:23:11,166 --> 01:23:12,792 I don't-- 1745 01:23:12,875 --> 01:23:15,959 trying to be after-the-fact accurate here. 1746 01:23:16,041 --> 01:23:18,500 I don't--I don't remember that. 1747 01:23:18,583 --> 01:23:23,125 - If that's true, you know, 1748 01:23:23,208 --> 01:23:25,000 to say it's unfortunate and disappointing 1749 01:23:25,083 --> 01:23:26,458 would be polite. 1750 01:23:26,542 --> 01:23:29,709 It is just so disheartening to hear that. 1751 01:23:29,792 --> 01:23:31,375 - After he lunched at the Governor's Club 1752 01:23:31,458 --> 01:23:33,667 in Tallahassee with a Republican lawmaker 1753 01:23:33,750 --> 01:23:36,667 and met with others instrumental in drawing 1754 01:23:36,750 --> 01:23:39,041 a congressional district Penelas might win, 1755 01:23:39,125 --> 01:23:42,083 suddenly, the Miami-Dade Canvassing Board, 1756 01:23:42,166 --> 01:23:43,875 one of whom works for Penelas, 1757 01:23:43,959 --> 01:23:46,125 voted to stop the manual recount. 1758 01:23:46,208 --> 01:23:49,166 - This is a key moment, and I want you to listen here. 1759 01:23:49,250 --> 01:23:50,542 What has just happened is, 1760 01:23:50,625 --> 01:23:53,333 the canvassing board in Miami-Dade County 1761 01:23:53,417 --> 01:23:55,917 has decided to stop the hand recount. 1762 01:23:56,000 --> 01:23:59,000 - My vote is that we not proceed 1763 01:23:59,083 --> 01:24:00,542 and that we allow the certification 1764 01:24:00,625 --> 01:24:02,000 that we did on November 8th 1765 01:24:02,083 --> 01:24:04,291 after the second automated recount 1766 01:24:04,375 --> 01:24:07,458 be the certification submitted to the secretary of state. 1767 01:24:07,542 --> 01:24:08,875 - The board finally decided 1768 01:24:08,959 --> 01:24:12,041 they did not have the time to count all of the ballots 1769 01:24:12,125 --> 01:24:13,917 before the Florida Supreme Court's 1770 01:24:14,000 --> 01:24:16,000 5:00 p.m. Sunday deadline. 1771 01:24:16,083 --> 01:24:17,709 - They had plenty of time to count. 1772 01:24:17,792 --> 01:24:20,083 They absolutely had plenty of time to count. 1773 01:24:20,166 --> 01:24:24,500 - I do not believe that there is time to carry out 1774 01:24:24,583 --> 01:24:29,417 a complete, full manual recount. 1775 01:24:29,500 --> 01:24:30,750 - The idea that they didn't have enough time 1776 01:24:30,834 --> 01:24:35,250 to count 10,750 undervote ballots in four days, 1777 01:24:35,333 --> 01:24:36,500 that's horseshit. 1778 01:24:36,583 --> 01:24:40,083 - And with that, they declared their work done--again. 1779 01:24:40,166 --> 01:24:45,041 - Recount in Dade County: done. 1780 01:24:45,125 --> 01:24:46,834 - The canvassing board has flip-flopped 1781 01:24:46,917 --> 01:24:48,875 at least three times that I can count. 1782 01:24:49,000 --> 01:24:51,250 First, they decided not to do a recount. 1783 01:24:51,333 --> 01:24:52,875 Then they decided that they would do 1784 01:24:52,959 --> 01:24:55,375 a full recount of 680,000 ballots. 1785 01:24:55,458 --> 01:24:57,250 Then they were gonna limit it to 10,000. 1786 01:24:57,333 --> 01:24:59,625 And now they've decided to call it off completely. 1787 01:24:59,709 --> 01:25:02,250 Now Dade County looks like a complete mess, 1788 01:25:02,333 --> 01:25:04,625 and deservedly, it is the laughingstock of the country. 1789 01:25:04,709 --> 01:25:10,125 - The canvassing, the recount, was stopped midstream. 1790 01:25:10,208 --> 01:25:13,750 Can you think of something more undemocratic than that? 1791 01:25:13,834 --> 01:25:16,959 - The most clear-cut, obvious decision, 1792 01:25:17,041 --> 01:25:21,583 which very simply is count all the votes, 1793 01:25:21,667 --> 01:25:23,458 they reversed it. 1794 01:25:23,542 --> 01:25:25,959 - The video that I saw on the television today, 1795 01:25:26,041 --> 01:25:27,250 I thought was pretty shocking. 1796 01:25:27,333 --> 01:25:28,583 I mean, a crowd of people 1797 01:25:28,667 --> 01:25:30,792 going in there, storming that room, 1798 01:25:30,875 --> 01:25:32,250 trying to take it over, 1799 01:25:32,333 --> 01:25:36,500 and forcing that board to change its rules. 1800 01:25:36,583 --> 01:25:38,750 I mean, we haven't seen that kind of an angry crowd 1801 01:25:38,834 --> 01:25:41,583 since Elián González was rescued from Miami. 1802 01:25:41,667 --> 01:25:44,792 Is that what passes for democracy in Miami? 1803 01:25:44,875 --> 01:25:47,792 - A dangerous dimension to this campaign was introduced 1804 01:25:47,875 --> 01:25:50,291 where you had really the threat of violence 1805 01:25:50,375 --> 01:25:52,458 in a lot of ways scaring away many of those 1806 01:25:52,542 --> 01:25:54,458 who believe that the process should be able to work. 1807 01:25:54,542 --> 01:25:58,625 - These demonstrations were clearly designed to intimidate 1808 01:25:58,709 --> 01:26:01,250 and to prevent a simple count 1809 01:26:01,333 --> 01:26:04,667 of votes from going forward. 1810 01:26:04,750 --> 01:26:07,000 - From their perspective, I can understand 1811 01:26:07,083 --> 01:26:09,166 where they thought that we might've been intimidated 1812 01:26:09,250 --> 01:26:11,667 and our vote was based on that intimidation. 1813 01:26:11,750 --> 01:26:13,333 The fact is that it wasn't. 1814 01:26:13,417 --> 01:26:14,458 - And as for Mr. Leahy, 1815 01:26:14,542 --> 01:26:15,625 let's just get the record straight. 1816 01:26:15,709 --> 01:26:17,792 He belongs in the Cowards Hall of Fame. 1817 01:26:17,875 --> 01:26:19,834 - I simply made my decision based on the fact 1818 01:26:19,917 --> 01:26:23,166 that we could not certify in time. 1819 01:26:23,250 --> 01:26:26,500 - We got the message across, and the recount was stopped. 1820 01:26:26,583 --> 01:26:27,667 - I think justice won. 1821 01:26:27,750 --> 01:26:30,500 I think the American people won. 1822 01:26:30,583 --> 01:26:33,208 - At the time, it appeared spontaneous: 1823 01:26:33,291 --> 01:26:35,291 angry residents denied the right 1824 01:26:35,375 --> 01:26:37,166 to see their votes recounted. 1825 01:26:37,250 --> 01:26:38,542 all: Let us see the ballots! 1826 01:26:38,625 --> 01:26:39,625 - But the reality is, 1827 01:26:39,709 --> 01:26:42,166 it was an orchestrated Republican protest. 1828 01:26:42,250 --> 01:26:44,000 - The press is in! The press is in! 1829 01:26:44,083 --> 01:26:45,000 - Sir. - Let us in! 1830 01:26:45,083 --> 01:26:47,834 - Sir, you need to-- - Let us in! Let us-- 1831 01:26:47,917 --> 01:26:52,875 - This was not an ad-hoc, impromptu kind of operation. 1832 01:26:52,959 --> 01:26:54,250 - It looks like chickenshit. 1833 01:26:54,333 --> 01:26:55,583 It looks like a bunch of people 1834 01:26:55,667 --> 01:26:58,417 who dress well and, you know, shower twice a day 1835 01:26:58,500 --> 01:26:59,875 flipped democracy. 1836 01:26:59,959 --> 01:27:01,917 - And most were not even from here. 1837 01:27:02,000 --> 01:27:04,709 - Are you local? Are you-- - You gotta ask my guide. 1838 01:27:04,792 --> 01:27:07,709 - Her guide, a Republican public relations officer, 1839 01:27:07,792 --> 01:27:09,750 cut that conversation short. 1840 01:27:09,834 --> 01:27:11,709 - You know, there was a suggestion made 1841 01:27:11,792 --> 01:27:13,542 by the Republicans, by the way, 1842 01:27:13,625 --> 01:27:16,208 that those were 1843 01:27:16,291 --> 01:27:19,625 "local Cuban American activists 1844 01:27:19,709 --> 01:27:23,083 who were upset by the situation." 1845 01:27:23,166 --> 01:27:26,041 Nobody was in guayaberas. 1846 01:27:26,125 --> 01:27:28,333 Nobody had an accent. 1847 01:27:28,417 --> 01:27:33,041 They were dressed in tweeds, and they all had square heads. 1848 01:27:33,125 --> 01:27:36,417 - In Miami-Dade, the majority of people who took part, 1849 01:27:36,500 --> 01:27:39,417 yes, were seasoned political operatives. 1850 01:27:39,500 --> 01:27:42,917 - The mob that the GOP sent to stop that count in Miami 1851 01:27:43,000 --> 01:27:45,208 was billed at the time as a spontaneous 1852 01:27:45,291 --> 01:27:46,583 grassroots uprising, 1853 01:27:46,667 --> 01:27:47,917 one that just happened to be made up 1854 01:27:48,000 --> 01:27:49,959 of no one at all from Miami, 1855 01:27:50,041 --> 01:27:51,625 all Republican national operatives, 1856 01:27:51,709 --> 01:27:53,417 including at least a half dozen 1857 01:27:53,500 --> 01:27:55,500 who, according to IRS records, 1858 01:27:55,583 --> 01:27:58,458 received payment for their services 1859 01:27:58,542 --> 01:28:01,542 from the Bush-Cheney recount committee. 1860 01:28:01,625 --> 01:28:03,542 - We did such a great job that the campaign in Austin 1861 01:28:03,625 --> 01:28:05,625 actually thought we had lost our minds 1862 01:28:05,709 --> 01:28:08,000 and that we were doing something 1863 01:28:08,083 --> 01:28:09,375 that was not well thought-out, 1864 01:28:09,458 --> 01:28:11,959 but when we told them that, of course, 1865 01:28:12,041 --> 01:28:14,417 it was all well-thought out and preplanned, 1866 01:28:14,500 --> 01:28:16,625 they were satisfied, obviously, with the result. 1867 01:28:16,709 --> 01:28:20,458 - It was run with care and with shrewdness 1868 01:28:20,542 --> 01:28:22,125 and evil intent. 1869 01:28:22,208 --> 01:28:23,667 And it worked. 1870 01:28:23,750 --> 01:28:27,291 - It became known as the famous Brooks Brothers Riot. 1871 01:28:27,375 --> 01:28:29,959 Because Republicans are, generally speaking, 1872 01:28:30,041 --> 01:28:31,917 better dressed than Democrats. 1873 01:28:32,000 --> 01:28:33,291 - Roger Stone has claimed 1874 01:28:33,375 --> 01:28:35,667 that he was in the motor home, the Winnebago... 1875 01:28:36,917 --> 01:28:38,166 - Telling them to coordinate and encourage 1876 01:28:38,250 --> 01:28:39,458 the Brooks Brothers Riot. 1877 01:28:39,542 --> 01:28:41,667 Is that accurate? 1878 01:28:41,750 --> 01:28:44,083 - No, it is not. Roger Stone is full of shit. 1879 01:28:44,166 --> 01:28:46,792 Had he shown up, he would've been thrown out. 1880 01:28:46,875 --> 01:28:49,000 No, the Winnebago, he was not in. 1881 01:28:49,083 --> 01:28:51,291 The Winnebago, I rented. 1882 01:28:51,375 --> 01:28:53,417 And he was not part of the Bush effort. 1883 01:28:53,500 --> 01:28:56,458 I had not seen Roger Stone down in the recount, 1884 01:28:56,542 --> 01:28:57,959 although I've heard he's taking credit 1885 01:28:58,041 --> 01:29:01,500 for things that he hasn't done, true to Roger Stone. 1886 01:29:01,583 --> 01:29:04,500 - Please give me a fuckin' break. 1887 01:29:04,583 --> 01:29:07,000 Don't use that. 1888 01:29:07,083 --> 01:29:09,000 - The idea that you would take pride 1889 01:29:09,083 --> 01:29:12,333 in being an operative who stopped an election 1890 01:29:12,417 --> 01:29:15,000 reveals that for the Republicans, 1891 01:29:15,083 --> 01:29:18,000 elections are nothing more than a dirty trick 1892 01:29:18,083 --> 01:29:19,834 to hold on to power. 1893 01:29:19,917 --> 01:29:20,875 - One man's dirty trick 1894 01:29:20,959 --> 01:29:23,500 is another man's civic participation. 1895 01:29:23,583 --> 01:29:28,166 - That Bush operation trailer has moved on. 1896 01:29:28,250 --> 01:29:32,583 - The Brooks Brothers Riot is a travesty. 1897 01:29:32,667 --> 01:29:37,834 The fact that there was not enough police 1898 01:29:37,917 --> 01:29:41,000 to prevent that from happening 1899 01:29:41,083 --> 01:29:45,250 and that Alex Penelas did not prevent violence 1900 01:29:45,333 --> 01:29:49,333 from ending American votes from being counted 1901 01:29:49,417 --> 01:29:54,250 it is to this day a searing travesty. 1902 01:29:54,333 --> 01:29:56,041 - I'm proud of what we did. 1903 01:29:56,125 --> 01:29:57,709 It was necessary that it be done. 1904 01:29:57,792 --> 01:30:01,166 And but for perhaps a little of what we did, 1905 01:30:01,250 --> 01:30:03,709 maybe the outcome would've been different. 1906 01:30:03,792 --> 01:30:05,917 - Certainly heard some Democrats whispering yesterday 1907 01:30:06,000 --> 01:30:08,667 about wondering if there were political pressure 1908 01:30:08,750 --> 01:30:11,542 brought to bear on those three canvassing board members. 1909 01:30:11,625 --> 01:30:15,333 - We learned later that Judge King and Judge Lehr, 1910 01:30:15,417 --> 01:30:18,041 two of the three members of the canvassing board, 1911 01:30:18,125 --> 01:30:22,208 had been clients of Armando Gutierrez. 1912 01:30:22,291 --> 01:30:24,959 - Judge Myriam Lehr and Judge Lawrence King, 1913 01:30:25,041 --> 01:30:27,083 2/3 of the Dade County canvassing board, 1914 01:30:27,166 --> 01:30:29,625 were clients of Armando Gutierrez. 1915 01:30:33,333 --> 01:30:34,875 - I didn't know that. 1916 01:30:36,834 --> 01:30:39,250 - Wow. That's fucked up. 1917 01:30:40,959 --> 01:30:45,583 That kind of bullshit, local politics, 1918 01:30:45,667 --> 01:30:46,625 happens all the time, 1919 01:30:46,709 --> 01:30:48,625 but it's rare that it has a national impact 1920 01:30:48,709 --> 01:30:50,250 and an international impact. 1921 01:30:50,333 --> 01:30:53,333 - Do you feel comfortable saying 1922 01:30:53,417 --> 01:30:57,750 Armando would never have called Judge Lehr and Judge King 1923 01:30:57,834 --> 01:30:58,750 and intervened? 1924 01:30:58,834 --> 01:31:00,917 - You kidding me? Yeah, I wouldn't say that. 1925 01:31:01,000 --> 01:31:02,041 - You wouldn't say what? 1926 01:31:02,125 --> 01:31:04,458 - That Armando would not pick up the phone and call 1927 01:31:04,542 --> 01:31:05,959 or show up at their house. 1928 01:31:06,041 --> 01:31:06,959 You kidding me? 1929 01:31:07,041 --> 01:31:08,291 - No, no, no, he was talking to them. 1930 01:31:08,375 --> 01:31:09,291 - I'm sorry? 1931 01:31:09,375 --> 01:31:11,834 - There's no doubt he was talking to them. 1932 01:31:11,917 --> 01:31:13,291 - Why isn't there a doubt? 1933 01:31:13,375 --> 01:31:14,792 - Because if you know Armando Gutierrez, 1934 01:31:14,875 --> 01:31:16,000 you know he was talking to them. 1935 01:31:16,083 --> 01:31:19,917 - It's South Florida. Anything is possible. 1936 01:31:20,000 --> 01:31:22,709 - The judges deny they were pressured by anyone, 1937 01:31:22,792 --> 01:31:24,166 and Armando Gutierrez said that 1938 01:31:24,250 --> 01:31:26,834 he had not spoken to anybody on the canvassing board 1939 01:31:26,917 --> 01:31:29,083 and that he had actually been out of town on a trip 1940 01:31:29,166 --> 01:31:31,709 with his son, named Chad. 1941 01:31:33,959 --> 01:31:35,291 - Another fixed election in a town 1942 01:31:35,375 --> 01:31:36,959 that's famous for fixed elections. 1943 01:31:37,041 --> 01:31:38,041 You know, it used to be 1944 01:31:38,125 --> 01:31:39,500 Chicago was the most corrupt city in America. 1945 01:31:39,583 --> 01:31:40,959 Then it was New York, 1946 01:31:41,041 --> 01:31:42,917 the mobsters and all the other and Tammany Hall. 1947 01:31:43,000 --> 01:31:44,750 And now Miami's number one, baby! 1948 01:31:44,834 --> 01:31:46,041 - Oh! 1949 01:31:46,125 --> 01:31:47,291 - We may not be the best, 1950 01:31:47,375 --> 01:31:48,333 but we're the goddamn crookedest 1951 01:31:48,417 --> 01:31:50,375 on the face of the Earth. 1952 01:31:50,458 --> 01:31:52,542 - This morning, Al Gore was in a lighthearted mood 1953 01:31:52,625 --> 01:31:54,875 as he helped to load food for Thanksgiving dinners 1954 01:31:54,959 --> 01:31:57,500 for needy families in the Washington area. 1955 01:31:57,583 --> 01:31:59,542 - We don't have to count these boxes, do we? 1956 01:31:59,625 --> 01:32:00,667 - No, no, they're already counted. 1957 01:32:00,750 --> 01:32:02,000 They're already counted. 1958 01:32:02,083 --> 01:32:03,542 - We don't have to recount them, do we? 1959 01:32:03,625 --> 01:32:07,041 - That was before the recount in Miami-Dade was halted. 1960 01:32:07,125 --> 01:32:10,834 - This decision by the Miami-Dade Canvassing Board 1961 01:32:10,917 --> 01:32:15,041 could be the last big blow for the Gore campaign. 1962 01:32:15,125 --> 01:32:16,875 - Now, this is one of the motherlode areas 1963 01:32:16,959 --> 01:32:19,583 for potential Gore votes that hadn't been counted 1964 01:32:19,667 --> 01:32:21,291 the first couple times around. 1965 01:32:21,375 --> 01:32:23,041 - With just 930 votes separating 1966 01:32:23,125 --> 01:32:24,667 the two candidates statewide, 1967 01:32:24,750 --> 01:32:28,875 the Gore camp loses 157 votes gained here so far 1968 01:32:28,959 --> 01:32:31,000 and the potential for hundreds more. 1969 01:32:31,083 --> 01:32:34,500 - Republicans have done everything they can 1970 01:32:34,583 --> 01:32:37,417 to delay the hand count to run out the clock. 1971 01:32:37,500 --> 01:32:40,875 - Democrats turn to the Third District Court of Appeals, 1972 01:32:40,959 --> 01:32:43,583 filing an emergency petition asking the court 1973 01:32:43,667 --> 01:32:46,542 to force the Miami-Dade Canvassing Board 1974 01:32:46,625 --> 01:32:49,208 to hand-count its votes. 1975 01:32:49,291 --> 01:32:51,083 The Court of Appeals says no, 1976 01:32:51,166 --> 01:32:54,458 but Democrats vow to go to the Supreme Court. 1977 01:32:56,291 --> 01:32:57,875 - After weeks of setbacks, 1978 01:32:57,959 --> 01:33:01,375 Al Gore wins a battle in his bid for the presidency. 1979 01:33:01,458 --> 01:33:04,041 The Florida Supreme Court justices ordered officials 1980 01:33:04,125 --> 01:33:06,375 in all of Florida's 67 counties 1981 01:33:06,458 --> 01:33:09,375 to hand-count ballots that did not register a vote 1982 01:33:09,458 --> 01:33:10,542 for the president. 1983 01:33:10,625 --> 01:33:12,583 - In addition, the circuit court shall enter orders 1984 01:33:12,667 --> 01:33:15,959 ensuring the inclusion of the additional 215 legal votes 1985 01:33:16,041 --> 01:33:19,417 for Vice President Gore in Palm Beach County 1986 01:33:19,500 --> 01:33:23,083 and the 168 additional legal votes from Miami-Dade County. 1987 01:33:23,166 --> 01:33:25,709 - Now the margin is 154, 1988 01:33:25,792 --> 01:33:28,542 according to the Florida State Supreme Court. 1989 01:33:28,625 --> 01:33:33,542 - Florida's supreme court comes back and says, 1990 01:33:33,625 --> 01:33:37,709 "Everybody recounts everywhere." 1991 01:33:49,542 --> 01:33:51,917 And then we're up there right in the middle of doing it, 1992 01:33:52,000 --> 01:33:54,959 and the Republican comes tearing down the hall 1993 01:33:55,041 --> 01:33:58,792 and says, "The Supreme Court just halted the recount." 1994 01:33:58,875 --> 01:34:01,834 - We have to stop? 1995 01:34:01,917 --> 01:34:04,000 Even in the middle of the machines? 1996 01:34:04,083 --> 01:34:05,166 Okay. 1997 01:34:08,041 --> 01:34:10,625 - Granting George W. Bush's request, 1998 01:34:10,709 --> 01:34:12,458 the United States Supreme Court 1999 01:34:12,542 --> 01:34:14,625 jumped into the battle for the White House today, 2000 01:34:14,709 --> 01:34:17,291 ordering an abrupt halt to a hand recount 2001 01:34:17,375 --> 01:34:19,333 of thousands of ballots in Florida. 2002 01:34:22,709 --> 01:34:25,125 - This is an ABC News special report. 2003 01:34:25,208 --> 01:34:28,667 "A Nation Waits." Now reporting, Peter Jennings. 2004 01:34:28,750 --> 01:34:29,792 - Good evening, everybody. 2005 01:34:29,875 --> 01:34:30,959 I'll make it quick and simple to beginning. 2006 01:34:31,041 --> 01:34:32,291 The Supreme Court of the United States 2007 01:34:32,375 --> 01:34:35,959 has reversed the decision of the Florida Supreme Court 2008 01:34:36,041 --> 01:34:40,000 on a very narrow majority: five justices to four. 2009 01:34:40,083 --> 01:34:43,333 - I read the Supreme Court opinion and said, 2010 01:34:43,417 --> 01:34:44,625 "We're fucked." 2011 01:34:44,709 --> 01:34:46,083 - How many ballots have you counted? 2012 01:34:46,166 --> 01:34:47,834 - Ion Sancho oversaw the recount 2013 01:34:47,917 --> 01:34:49,625 of the Miami-Dade undervotes. 2014 01:34:49,709 --> 01:34:52,166 Close to halfway through before the stay stopped them, 2015 01:34:52,250 --> 01:34:53,792 Sancho was disappointed. 2016 01:34:53,875 --> 01:34:56,792 - Because we were discovering valid votes 2017 01:34:56,875 --> 01:34:59,000 cast in the presidential race 2018 01:34:59,083 --> 01:35:02,000 that citizens of the United States of America, 2019 01:35:02,083 --> 01:35:03,667 who made a good faith effort 2020 01:35:03,750 --> 01:35:05,667 to go down and case those votes, 2021 01:35:05,750 --> 01:35:08,166 expect to have their votes counted. 2022 01:35:08,250 --> 01:35:11,041 - The Supreme Court says, 2023 01:35:11,125 --> 01:35:14,000 "We're not gonna let the count continue." 2024 01:35:14,083 --> 01:35:15,250 And suddenly, 2025 01:35:15,333 --> 01:35:17,083 George Bush became the president of the United States. 2026 01:35:17,166 --> 01:35:20,375 - The final margin in the state of Florida: 2027 01:35:20,458 --> 01:35:23,250 five votes to four votes. 2028 01:35:23,333 --> 01:35:25,625 - I won fair and square. 2029 01:35:25,709 --> 01:35:26,917 That's right, state of Florida. 2030 01:35:27,000 --> 01:35:28,750 Read my mouth. 2031 01:35:28,834 --> 01:35:32,083 I am the president of the United States. 2032 01:35:32,166 --> 01:35:33,834 - And by the way, Florida, do us a favor. 2033 01:35:33,917 --> 01:35:35,583 Stay out of the next election, okay? 2034 01:35:35,667 --> 01:35:37,250 Just--we don't need it. 2035 01:35:37,333 --> 01:35:39,417 - Interesting fun fact about the election: 2036 01:35:39,500 --> 01:35:42,208 Al Gore got more votes nationally, 2037 01:35:42,291 --> 01:35:43,417 so that's kind of funny. 2038 01:35:43,500 --> 01:35:45,208 And-- 2039 01:35:45,291 --> 01:35:46,667 Kind of funny. 2040 01:35:46,750 --> 01:35:48,375 I bet Al Gore will get a big kick out of that 2041 01:35:48,458 --> 01:35:49,875 when he hears it. 2042 01:35:49,959 --> 01:35:52,500 - The election was lost in many different places, 2043 01:35:52,583 --> 01:35:54,375 but it was stolen in Miami. 2044 01:35:54,458 --> 01:35:56,417 - This was a game of gotcha. 2045 01:35:56,500 --> 01:35:58,125 I've been telling you since the 8th of November 2046 01:35:58,208 --> 01:35:59,750 they stole it fair and square. 2047 01:35:59,834 --> 01:36:01,917 They stole it a half a dozen different ways at least 2048 01:36:02,000 --> 01:36:03,583 because the fix was in. 2049 01:36:05,667 --> 01:36:08,208 - The Republicans wanted to pull off the perfect crime. 2050 01:36:08,291 --> 01:36:09,792 You needed the right people 2051 01:36:09,875 --> 01:36:12,583 to be in the right places to do so. 2052 01:36:12,667 --> 01:36:16,083 From Armando Gutierrez to Roger Stone 2053 01:36:16,166 --> 01:36:19,083 to Katherine Harris to Jeb Bush 2054 01:36:19,166 --> 01:36:21,250 all the way up to a Supreme Court justice 2055 01:36:21,333 --> 01:36:24,583 appointed by George W. Bush's father, 2056 01:36:24,667 --> 01:36:29,041 it was a royal flush. 2057 01:36:29,125 --> 01:36:31,083 - You know, it's one thing to bullshit people 2058 01:36:31,166 --> 01:36:32,500 because you're a great bullshitter 2059 01:36:32,583 --> 01:36:33,959 and you've got a good message. 2060 01:36:34,041 --> 01:36:36,417 - I know the human being and fish 2061 01:36:36,500 --> 01:36:38,709 and coexist peacefully. 2062 01:36:38,792 --> 01:36:40,166 - It's another thing 2063 01:36:40,250 --> 01:36:45,125 to literally scheme your way into getting a result 2064 01:36:45,208 --> 01:36:48,625 that is not perhaps the proper result. 2065 01:36:48,709 --> 01:36:52,792 And that's what happened during that election. 2066 01:36:52,875 --> 01:36:55,458 - And tonight, for the sake of our unity as a people 2067 01:36:55,542 --> 01:36:57,417 and the strength of our democracy, 2068 01:36:57,500 --> 01:36:59,083 I offer my concession. 2069 01:36:59,166 --> 01:37:01,875 - After endless court battles, 2070 01:37:01,959 --> 01:37:04,291 the Florida vote has been certified 2071 01:37:04,375 --> 01:37:07,500 by Florida secretary of state Katherine Harris, 2072 01:37:07,583 --> 01:37:11,792 giving the state and the presidency to George W. Bush 2073 01:37:11,875 --> 01:37:16,125 by a total of 537 votes. 2074 01:37:16,208 --> 01:37:18,792 Wow. 2075 01:37:18,875 --> 01:37:20,125 That's a landslide 2076 01:37:20,208 --> 01:37:24,667 if you're running for student council treasurer. 2077 01:37:24,750 --> 01:37:28,166 - She certified a 537-vote total. 2078 01:37:28,250 --> 01:37:30,333 - The margin was 537, 2079 01:37:30,417 --> 01:37:35,959 a number that for any Democrat over the age of 35 2080 01:37:36,041 --> 01:37:37,792 is stamped into their head. 2081 01:37:39,417 --> 01:37:41,125 - 537 votes. 2082 01:37:41,208 --> 01:37:43,834 I could probably go and talk to, personally, 2083 01:37:43,917 --> 01:37:46,166 537 people that I know. 2084 01:37:46,250 --> 01:37:49,667 - 537 votes. That's stunning. 2085 01:37:49,750 --> 01:37:52,625 - What happened to Al Gore is very simple. 2086 01:37:52,709 --> 01:37:57,583 He won the state of Florida, but Miami-Dade made sure 2087 01:37:57,667 --> 01:38:00,875 that at least 10,000 ballots 2088 01:38:01,000 --> 01:38:03,709 never saw the light of day. 2089 01:38:03,792 --> 01:38:08,375 - All of the dimpled chads were never counted ever, 2090 01:38:08,458 --> 01:38:10,667 ever, to this day. 2091 01:38:10,750 --> 01:38:15,333 - And the takeaway is, close elections can be stolen. 2092 01:38:17,417 --> 01:38:21,709 - It's now clear that the Miami-Dade recount being ended 2093 01:38:21,792 --> 01:38:23,375 was the seminal event 2094 01:38:23,458 --> 01:38:26,166 that decided the 2000 presidential race. 2095 01:38:26,250 --> 01:38:29,959 Had things not gone down as they did in Miami-Dade, 2096 01:38:30,041 --> 01:38:32,375 we might have had a different result. 2097 01:38:32,458 --> 01:38:35,542 - It was the first domino to fall. 2098 01:38:35,625 --> 01:38:38,250 It was the beginning of the end. 2099 01:38:43,500 --> 01:38:46,000 - We drew the short straw and had that terrible mess 2100 01:38:46,083 --> 01:38:49,542 with the Elián González case. 2101 01:38:49,625 --> 01:38:51,750 Cost him a lot of votes in Florida. 2102 01:38:51,834 --> 01:38:54,542 - It was humiliating to many Cuban Americans, 2103 01:38:54,625 --> 01:38:57,250 and the 2000 election was payback. 2104 01:38:57,333 --> 01:39:00,917 - Bill Clinton got about 35% of the Cuban American vote 2105 01:39:01,000 --> 01:39:03,375 in Florida in 1996. 2106 01:39:03,458 --> 01:39:08,792 In 2000, Al Gore's support dropped to less than 20%. 2107 01:39:08,875 --> 01:39:11,750 What was the decisive factor in this election? 2108 01:39:11,834 --> 01:39:14,917 The U.S. Supreme Court, the Clinton scandals, 2109 01:39:15,000 --> 01:39:20,083 the debates, or a little boy shipwrecked in Miami? 2110 01:39:20,166 --> 01:39:21,166 - Who's to blame? 2111 01:39:21,250 --> 01:39:23,750 Democratic sources say it's South Florida's 2112 01:39:23,834 --> 01:39:26,709 former Hispanic golden boy, Alex Penelas. 2113 01:39:26,792 --> 01:39:29,917 - Alex Penelas may have cost Al Gore 2114 01:39:30,000 --> 01:39:32,250 the presidency of the United States. 2115 01:39:32,333 --> 01:39:33,458 - Before they're being made to me, 2116 01:39:33,542 --> 01:39:34,959 it's obvious nothing more than a PR stunt. 2117 01:39:35,041 --> 01:39:37,875 - The boy mayor finished his term 2118 01:39:37,959 --> 01:39:41,125 and Alex Penelas decided to run for United States Senate. 2119 01:39:41,208 --> 01:39:44,250 - This Miami-Dade mayor and U.S. Senate candidate 2120 01:39:44,333 --> 01:39:47,125 is doing damage control to save his reputation 2121 01:39:47,208 --> 01:39:48,166 after being singled out 2122 01:39:48,250 --> 01:39:50,959 by former presidential candidate Al Gore. 2123 01:39:51,041 --> 01:39:54,667 "One of the other candidates in this race became in 2000 2124 01:39:54,750 --> 01:39:57,250 "the single most treacherous and dishonest person 2125 01:39:57,333 --> 01:40:01,125 I dealt with during the campaign anywhere in America." 2126 01:40:01,208 --> 01:40:04,959 - Alex Penelas ended Al Gore's political career, 2127 01:40:05,041 --> 01:40:08,834 and Al Gore returned the favor. 2128 01:40:08,917 --> 01:40:12,834 - It was a moment. It was a Miami moment. 2129 01:40:12,917 --> 01:40:14,792 - I have something else to ask you, 2130 01:40:14,875 --> 01:40:16,959 to ask every American. 2131 01:40:17,041 --> 01:40:20,500 I ask for you to pray for this great nation. 2132 01:40:20,583 --> 01:40:22,333 - We're way ahead of you. 2133 01:40:24,917 --> 01:40:26,959 - This country would've been so different 2134 01:40:27,041 --> 01:40:29,208 if Al Gore have been elected. 2135 01:40:31,917 --> 01:40:35,792 We would've addressed climate change. 2136 01:40:35,875 --> 01:40:38,792 We would have maintained our position 2137 01:40:38,875 --> 01:40:42,083 as the moral leaders of the free world. 2138 01:40:43,875 --> 01:40:45,333 - Vice President Al Gore read 2139 01:40:45,417 --> 01:40:48,458 the national security daily briefs every day 2140 01:40:48,542 --> 01:40:49,542 as vice president. 2141 01:40:49,625 --> 01:40:51,709 I can't imagine he wouldn't have 2142 01:40:51,792 --> 01:40:55,583 read them twice a day as president. 2143 01:40:55,667 --> 01:40:58,750 I don't think that 9/11 would've happened. 2144 01:41:02,291 --> 01:41:05,792 - We would not have gone to war in Iraq. 2145 01:41:07,792 --> 01:41:12,041 - The United States ended up in two wars 2146 01:41:12,125 --> 01:41:15,583 and killed 350,000 to 500,000 people. 2147 01:41:17,625 --> 01:41:19,500 - When we went to what I thought 2148 01:41:19,583 --> 01:41:21,542 was an unjust war in Iraq, 2149 01:41:21,625 --> 01:41:25,250 I actually regretted the fact that he had become president. 2150 01:41:27,333 --> 01:41:30,500 - We went from a $300 billion surplus 2151 01:41:30,583 --> 01:41:35,000 to running a $1/2 trillion deficit. 2152 01:41:35,083 --> 01:41:38,709 We put a giant hole in the American economy. 2153 01:41:38,792 --> 01:41:40,750 We almost went insolvent. 2154 01:41:43,291 --> 01:41:45,583 - I can draw a direct link 2155 01:41:45,667 --> 01:41:49,500 to a war we shouldn't have fought 2156 01:41:49,583 --> 01:41:53,166 to over 3,000 soldiers dying 2157 01:41:53,250 --> 01:41:55,792 to 537 votes here in Miami. 2158 01:41:57,917 --> 01:42:01,250 - What happened in Miami-Dade County 2159 01:42:01,333 --> 01:42:03,125 changed the political landscape 2160 01:42:03,208 --> 01:42:05,542 of this country forever. 2161 01:42:08,000 --> 01:42:11,083 - America changed as a result 2162 01:42:11,166 --> 01:42:14,750 of that one year in Miami. 2163 01:42:16,834 --> 01:42:22,291 We have become one of the most polarized nations 2164 01:42:22,375 --> 01:42:24,750 in the world. 2165 01:42:24,834 --> 01:42:27,417 What Miami was, America became. 2166 01:42:29,875 --> 01:42:34,959 - If people do not think that elections have consequences, 2167 01:42:35,041 --> 01:42:36,959 they do. 2168 01:42:37,041 --> 01:42:40,667 You need to take the time to vote. 2169 01:42:43,083 --> 01:42:46,291 - Democracy is messy, but I'm a political animal. 2170 01:42:46,375 --> 01:42:48,500 Politics is in my blood. 2171 01:42:48,583 --> 01:42:50,500 So once an election is over, 2172 01:42:50,583 --> 01:42:54,000 the best thing to do is start focusing on the next election. 2173 01:42:58,750 --> 01:43:00,291 - Ladies and gentlemen. 2174 01:43:00,375 --> 01:43:02,041 - Who discovered America? 2175 01:43:04,291 --> 01:43:06,667 Who--who--who-- who discovered America? 2176 01:43:07,959 --> 01:43:09,500 - Ladies and gentlemen. 2177 01:43:09,583 --> 01:43:11,834 - Who discovered America? 2178 01:43:11,917 --> 01:43:16,417 Who--who--who discovered-- who discovered America? 2179 01:43:23,458 --> 01:43:25,750 - Who discovered America? 2180 01:43:32,750 --> 01:43:35,208 - Who discovered America? 2181 01:44:19,041 --> 01:44:21,208 - Who discovered America? 2182 01:44:28,166 --> 01:44:30,542 - Who discovered America?