(CNN) –Vice President Al Gore continued to call November 28 for a "full and accurate count" of Florida’s presidential ballots. Since Florida’s Secretary of State Katherine Harris certified George W. Bush as the winner, the Bush campaign is preparing for the transition and offering names of possible Cabinet members. Meanwhile, numerous legal motions concerning the contested election are being addressed in the state’s courts as well as the U.S. Supreme Court.
Mo Rocca and Steve Carell are correspondents for "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" on Comedy Central. The network’s comedic coverage of the political scene includes "Indecision 2000," a unique take on the ongoing presidential election.
Chat Moderator: Thank you for joining us today, Mo Rocca and Steve Carell, and welcome.
Steve Carell: Hello audience.
Mo Rocca: Happy continuing deadlock.
Chat Moderator: It has now been three weeks since the election and we are still without a president-elect. What are your thoughts on this?
Steve Carell: It only seems like it's been 21 days!
Mo Rocca: Or a fortnight and a half.
Question from Xlr8: Has this election been a goldmine for comedians?
Mo Rocca: More like a fools gold mine. I have to say I am gripped. It is better than any narrative television.
Steve Carell: It's been extremely ugly, an ugly and divisive time for American politics. Because of that, our show is pretty much writing itself at this point.
Mo Rocca: I love the Palm Beach County canvassers. Carol Roberts has had me in stitches. But nobody slays me like Judge Charles Burton.
Steve Carell: Warren Christopher is one of the most ebullient, exciting, charismatic comedic performers of our day. The man is a walking bag-o-laughs!
Mo Rocca: I agree. If Bush wants to win, he needs to replace James Baker with Senor Wences on his team.
Question from Bush20000: Do you think Al Gore is breaking constitutional laws there or do you think he is right by only counting Democratic counties?
Steve Carell: I think after an entire life destined to be president, after he's been groomed since childhood to be president, I think he has no other options than to dispute the Florida recount. I can understand on a personal level what a bitter pill defeat would be, i.e. screw the Constitution. Of course, I'm speaking of the boat.
Mo Rocca: Al Gore's problem is that he does seem bitter and desperate. People like Al Gore when they don't see him. My advice is he should stop talking, put a bag over his head and move to Kazakhstan. If he does that, I assure you that he'll wrap this thing up within two weeks.
Question from Goob: What positive effects, if any, do either of you see coming from this year’s election?
Steve Carell: Ratings, ratings, ratings! We now have over 350 regular viewers!
Mo Rocca: Katherine Harris will become Mrs. Larry King IX. You go, girl!
Question from Mango: Mo and Steve, Gore lost his home state of Tennessee. Is that good or bad news for Gore, and why?
Steve Carell: That's a stupid question. Had he won Tennessee, this would be a moot point. That's like asking: "Would it be a good or bad thing if your parents loved you?"
Mo Rocca: Anyone who has to spend time in Nashville knows it’s a good thing that he lost it.
Question from Tommy: Who do you think is being more professional, Bush or Gore?
Steve Carell: I think that's like asking which was better, Hitler or Idi Amin? There's no way of answering that. One looks like a fool reading off a teleprompter, the other a desperate man on his way to political oblivion.
Mo Rocca: Steve is right. Bush does look like he's at a total loss. And Gore sounds like Jim Nabors’ evil twin. He heckles Jim; he mocks him; he talks to him like he is a retarded 8-year-old. And yet, much to Gore's chagrin, Mayberrians will always like Gomer Pyle better than the vice president.
Steve Carell: And Warren Christopher is Aunt Bea.
Question from Goob: Put yourselves in Ralph Nader's shoes. What would you be doing right now?
Steve Carell: For one, they would be the new Nike running shoes and I'd be sprinting from angry mobs of Democrats.
Mo Rocca: I see Nader in Birkenstocks, but maybe that is just on the weekends.
Steve Carell: I've heard tell of a Democratic movement to strap Nader into a Corvair and push him onto a freeway.
Question from Candyce-CNN: Do you expect this to extend beyond Christmas? I hope so, because I'm thinking of marketing the "Chia Chad." What do you think?
Mo Rocca: Christmas has come early to "The Daily Show." Steve, in fact, already gave me a gift certificate for a Volusia County manual re-canvassing at the Peninsula Hotel Spa.
Steve Carell: My question is: What happens to the Chia Chad when you water it?
Mo Rocca: It dimples.
Question from Mariah: What are your views on the butterfly ballot? If it had been a bingo card, would we have had a better count?
Steve Carell: For starters, I'm having a butterfly ballot tattooed on my lower back. Next, in four years, I hope the ballots themselves will be on three feet by five feet poster board and we will punch through with our fists so there can be no mistakes. They’ll be counted by enormous machines. That's an America in which I hope to live.
Mo Rocca: And outside of America, the butterfly ballot might have a home. I'd like to see the College of Cardinals elect the next pope with a butterfly ballot. Who knows who might be elected, Pope Harry Browne maybe.
Chat Moderator: You both expected Indecision 2000 coverage to be over November 8. Now that it has dragged on, how has this affected your lives?
Steve Carell: We've been unable to move on to our more important stories. For instance, I've had a story about an overweight pig that's been pushed back a week -- a scandal.
Mo Rocca: I haven't gone to the bathroom in three weeks. It is that gripping.
Steve Carell: And incidentally, Mo is encased in a ton of ICE! And has learned to sleep standing up!
Question from Kimbo: Do you think it's a win-win situation for Lieberman because, either way, he has a job?
Steve Carell: Absolutely! And either way, he will be a force to be reckoned with.
I think that anyone who believes that George W. Bush won this election outright must also believe that Marisa Tomei won an Oscar for "My Cousin Vinny." The jury will always be out on this one.
Mo Rocca: Good analogy. Best supporting actress winners and disputed election victors are similarly fated for oblivion. Does anyone remember either Rutherford B. Hayes or Mercedes Ruehl?
Question from Bug: Steve, do you think the U.S. Supreme Court will rule for a national reelection? And, if so, would Mr. Gore or Mr. Bush win?
Steve Carell: Yes, there will be a national reelection but it will be done by a show of hands.
Mo Rocca: And this time, Mira Sorvino will win.
Chat Moderator: How should the winner be decided?
Mo Rocca: A pancake flip. But don't suggest that to Gary Bower.
Chat Moderator: Do you have any final thoughts to share with us?
Steve Carell: I think a hundred years from now, President Bush, George W. Bush, will be remembered with the same unbridled apathy as a Grover Cleveland. And I believe Al Gore will be remembered best for inventing the Internet, which subsequently destroyed all our personal interaction as a species.
Mo Rocca: Steve's prescription drug plan is totally inadequate. Just remember, I will fight for you.
Chat Moderator: Thank you for joining us today.
Mo Rocca: Goodbye, audience.
Steve Carell: Goodbye, audience!
Mo Rocca and Steve Carell joined the Allpolitics Chat via telephone from New York. CNN provided a typist for them. The above is an edited transcript of the chat, which took place on Tuesday, November 28, 2000.
