The Patriot Post® · The Goron-in-Chief

After each of the presidential debates, The Federalist dedicated considerable bandwidth to, shall we say, the “inaccuracy” of Gore’s comments. It only seems fitting that we briefly review his performance this Tuesday past, for, as noted by National Review’s Rich Lowry, it was a composite of “insulting half-truth, upon insulting distortion, upon insulting evasion.”

GORE: In many ways the act of voting and having that vote counted is more important than who wins the majority of the votes that are cast, because the victor will know that the American people have spoken with a voice made mighty by the whole of its integrity. FACT: The vote has been “made mighty by the whole of its integrity” five times, the last of which was certified according to the plan established by seven Democrats on the Florida Supreme Court – per Gore’s petition.

GORE: On that one day every four years, the poor as well as the rich, the weak as well as the strong, women and men alike, citizens of every race, creed and color, of whatever infirmity or political temper, all are equal. FACT: Conservatives would insist that Americans “all are equal” everyday – not just on Election Day. But Gore, the great divider, and his ilk of political victim mongers depend on the perception, by their dependent constituencies, that there is no equality.

GORE: A vote is not just a piece of paper, a vote is a human voice, a statement of human principle, and we must not let those voices be silenced. Not for today, not for tomorrow, not for as long as this nation’s laws and democratic institutions let us stand and fight to let those voices count. FACT: It is Gore who wants to silence the voices of Bush supporters in Florida.

GORE: If the people do not in the end choose me, so be it. The outcome will have been fair, and the people will have spoken. Ignoring votes means ignoring democracy itself. FACT: No votes have been ignored and, in the end, Mr. Bush won.

GORE: That is all we have asked since Election Day: a complete count of all the votes cast in Florida. Not recount after recount as some have charged, but a single, full and accurate count. FACT: After the election, Gore asked for a complete recount in only the three most heavily Democratic counties in the state. The only reason Gore is asking for a full recount now is that, having divined a sufficient number of dimple chads in round five, he wants as many rounds as it takes to “win.”

GORE: Lawsuit after lawsuit has been filed to delay the count and to stop the counting for many precious days between Election Day and the deadline for having the count finished. And this would be over long since, except for those efforts to block the process at every turn. FACT: This is the longest count in history! The first volley of lawsuits was fired by Gore’s infantry of trial lawyers after the second recount – the only one prescribed by Florida law – confirmed Bush’s victory.

GORE: And many thousands of votes that were cast on Election Day have not yet been counted at all, not once. FACT: Of course, this depends on what your definition of “count” is. By accepted standards, all ballots in question have been counted at least twice.

GORE: I believe our Constitution matters more than convenience. FACT: (See “The BIG Lie.”) Like Gore’s recent conversion to “federalism” was not a “matter of convenience.”

GORE: I agree with something Governor Bush said last night. We need to come together as a country to make progress. FACT: This from the “Great Divider.”

GORE: In all our hands now rest the future of America’s faith in our self-government. The American people have shown dignity, restraint and respect as the process has moved forward. FACT: Well, with the possible exception of Albert Gore, Joe Lieberman, Bill Daley, Warren Christopher, David Boies et al., Tom Daschle, Dick Gephardt, Kweisi Mfume, Donna Brazile, Bob Kerrey, Jerrold Nadler, Ron Klain, Joe Gellar, Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and Paul Begala. Did we mention Bill and Hillary Clinton?

GORE: In the end, in one of God’s unforeseen paths, this election may point us all to a new common ground, for its very closeness can serve to remind us that we are one people, with a shared history and a shared destiny. So this extraordinary moment should summon all of us to become what we profess to be: “one indivisible nation.” FACT: Albert Arnold Gore is, of his own accord, pushing the nation to the brink of a great divide.

GORE: Two hundred years from now, when future Americans study this presidential election, let…them learn that we were indeed a country of laws. FACT: This, from the guy who proclaimed “no controlling legal authority.”