A Night for the Ages 

I will never forget last night for the rest of my life. I am still not sure what I saw and felt and experienced, but it was the wildest ride of my political existence... 

I cannot even imagine what Governor Bush and Vice-President Gore and their families had to endure. They must have felt what I did, except a hundred times more. No candidate, wife, child or parent in that family should have to be put through that ordeal. It had to be emotionally horrifying. 

All because of one word: Florida. 

We all knew this was going to be the key state in the election. We did NOT know it was going to be the Jason of Campaign2000. The state with the hockey mask chopped everyone up, starting with the obsessive-compulsive media and going to the soul of the two candidates unmercifully until there was nothing left but shards of a recount today and tomorrow. We are all in need of the respite. We could not handle more turbulence today. 

My first jolt hit at 4:02 p.m. (PDT) when I found out that Bush had lost Michigan. Another pop hit me a little after 5:15 p.m. (PDT) when I was driving home from Von's with my arsenal of snacks and drinks for the marathon evening before me. I was listening innocently to some talk show guy who CASUALLY mentioned that "Florida had just gone to Al Gore." I almost choked on my Tostitos. 

I quickly called my younger brother, Mike in the Chicago area, my friend Larry, in Illinois and I emailed my other brother, JP, to get rid of this news quickly so I could eliminate this toxic news from my system and release it on THEM! In sharing this, I felt an immediate sense of freedom from the notion that it was not going to be Al Gore, but PRESIDENT Gore. Somehow, delivering bad news to someone else purifies me. I then settled in for an evening of total desperation. I suddenly felt possessed by the spirit of Alec Baldwin. I wondered what living in Lebanon would be like. 

I watched cynically as George W. exclaimed in his hotel room that the projections of Florida to Gore was wrong. I shook my head in sadness as I saw a candidate in major denial. I envied him. 

Ten minutes later, CNN AGREED with Bush and I came flying out of my chair! Florida was NOT Gore country! They BACKED OFF on their projection? That hardly EVER happens! There was still a....gasp!...chance? I watched NBC in shock after that as the map began turning red. One state after another fell into the Bush column like helpless morsels of a Pac-Man gone mad. Westward we went and I was screaming into the phone at my baby brother now...."BUSH JUST GOT MISSOURI! AND SOUTH DAKOTA! AND THAT OTHER DAKOTA! AND WEST VIRGINIA...AND...OH MY GOSH...HE GOT NEW HAMPSHIRE! CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS!!" Rolling across the prairie and up and down the mighty Mississippi, Bush was mopping up the country with Gore's shredded candidacy. He was unstoppable. 

Then Bush was at 246 and Gore was at 242. They were stalled. Four states hung tantalizingly close for either of them...but, just out of their reach. I thought of the time when I was fifteen years old and I was so CLOSE to kissing Alice Linsley. So close...and yet...so far. I just couldn't get to her. It was agonizing. Bush and Gore had both asked the same girl to the prom and she was flirting with both of them. Wisconsin, Iowa and Oregon were not that pretty, but Florida was Alice! She was the prize. They wanted her so BAD! She was the first lady. But, all they could do was wait. I polished off a pound of chicken fingers, three glasses of orange juice and three Almond Joys. 

I decided to brush my teeth. 

As the water was running, I thought I heard cheering... 

I raced back into the living room and there it was...."BUSH WINS THE PRESIDENCY!" Yesssssss! I KNEW Florida would come through for him. I immediately felt a twinge of remorse for Al and Tipper and then thought, "What am I thinking? I am no Buddhist with a million bucks! Screw that thought!" I wolfed down some imitation shrimp and sat back and waited for the acceptance speech and the concession speech. I was ESPECIALLY excited about the Gore humbling after watching him strut around for the past several months. This was going to be my reward for sticking with the decent guy from Midland. I called my brother one more time and woke him up per our agreement. "We have a new President, brother!" When he asked who, I just stared at the phone. (Like I am going to bother him in the middle of the night with a GORE victory!) We got so excited in our enthusiasm that we finally had a President with morals and character. I hung up and smiled broadly. It was a great feeling.... 

And that's when the surreal part of my life began. 

While I sat there waiting patiently as did the rest of the country, I listened to Tom Brokaw and Tim Russert talk about the great state of Florida and saw the vote totals come in as the Bush lead began to drop like Hans off the Nakatomi Building...it was 100,000...80,000....40,000....there was still 8% to be counted and it seemed like every percentage point represented another 10,000 votes for Gore. 30,000, 20,000...Brokaw suddenly looked over at Russert and said something like, "What is going on here?" It dawned on them as it did on me that maybe the REASON, Gore was not giving his concession speech was because there was NO victory for Bush in Florida and that the Presidency was up for grabs! 5,000...4,000....2,000... 

Someone had a made a HUGE mistake. And the networks had blindly followed their faulty math. Florida was NOT in love with Bush. 

1,000...600....200....I was comatose. This was NOT happening! 

I have never felt so helpless on election night. Maybe in my life. This was agonizing. The outcome, the candidates, the newscasters, the political supporters in Austin and Nashville and the country...all came to a standstill. 

No decision. 

Recount. 

I felt like throwing up. Judging from all the junk I ate, that would have been a GREAT idea. My nervous energy had suddenly been sucked out of me like a power vac invading a koala. I just sat there watching my television set and thinking to myself... 

"This is a dream. This is NOT happening. Bush won and I am asleep and I will wake up tomorrow and it will all be fine." 

But, it was no dream. It was our country doing what it does best. Frustrating the heck out of all of us! It was a devilish mix of computers, precinct counters, an indecisive electorate, two candidates who were enjoined since Labor Day daring the American people to sever one from the other, a loopy vote analyzer in Florida and the most incredible political night in our nation's history. 

It was a Night for the Ages. 

Eventually, it will be President Bush. My guess is by late tomorrow. I think Al Gore will be gracious and spare us more pain. In doing so, he will endear himself to another run in 2004, keeping a pent-up Hillary trapped in the Senate much to my delight. Maybe she can write up a bill beautifying the Lincoln bedroom or something. 

But, for one shining moment, that was the greatest up and down ride of my life as a citizen in a country where we are not only the greatest republic... 

We are the weirdest. 


Copyright©PJ Hurley November 8, 2000