Question on the Florida Recount

[Cat Atomic]

I was reading the preface to The Bush Dyslexicon today, and I came accross a passage that surprised me. The author, Mark Crispin Miller, is referencing the fanatically positive press Bush got after 9-11, specifically the way the long-awaited recount results were hushed up in October of '01.

Miller writes the following:

...the media did Bush/Cheney an enormous favor, by killing the important news that Gore had won the vote in Florida, and so, according to the Constitution, ought to be our President. This inconvenient finding was played way, way down, as, by and large, the newsfolk either sat on it (ABC World News, NBC Nightly News), or brazenly distorted it, highlighting Bush's slender victory just in those four counties where Gore had sued for hand counts."

Is that in fact what happened? I completely missed that at the time. I recall hearing several television and radio reports on the subject, all repeating the same thing; that Bush had in fact won by a narrow margin, and all the calls for a recount had been a waste of time. They admitted the loss of the popular vote, but said it didn't matter because he'd legitimately won Florida, and the recount results had vindicated him.

Did he actually lose Florida? Is that just common knowledge that's been conveniently discarded? It seems like it might be... oh... mildly IMPORTANT if it's true.

So can anyone help out with some background info, links, anything to verify Miller's statement?

[Wonk]

1. Here are some links for you

http://www.makethemaccountable.com/coverup/

http://www.consortiumnews.com/2001/040601a.html
http://www.consortiumnews.com/2001/071601a.html
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2001/sep2001/nyt-s25.shtml
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines01/1022-03.htm

[Cat Atomic]

2. Thank you very much-

I guess I've got some catching up to do.

[BurtWorm]

3. This is THE most underreported story of the new century.

Bush lost Florida. 9-11 buried it.

[Booberdawg]

4. Yes, Gore won Florida, not only that ....

I just read Greg Palast's book "The Best Democracy Money Can Buy" this last week which confirms not only Gore won Florida, but that he won Tennessee too. First I had heard that.

[elperromagico]

5. Apparently

it depended on how the votes were counted. Using Bush's standard (only clearly marked ballots counted), Gore would have won.

I don't remember it too well. Perhaps I'm blocking the whole horrible memory.