Gore Concedes, Bush Vows Unity

George W. Bush stood before the nation as its president-elect last night, vowing to mend a fractured electorate 36 days after Americans went to the polls.

Less than an hour before, Vice President Al Gore '69 conceded his challenge to the election in a brief but impassioned address in which he urged his supporters to grant legitimacy to the 43rd president.

In his 10-minute speech, delivered shortly after 10 p.m. in the hall of the Texas House of Representatives, Bush prominently sounded the theme of reconciliation, calling it his duty to heal the country after an historically tumultuous five-week post-election legal battle.

"I was not elected to serve one party, but to serve one nation," Bush said. "After a difficult election we must put politics behind us."

Bush vowed to forge a common agenda behind the themes of his campaign. He promised to strengthen Social Security, to preserve and expand Medicare and give due respect to the military, to reform education, and to give Americans the "tax relief they deserve."

"We have discussed our differences. Now it is time to find common ground and build consensus to make America a beacon of opportunity in the 21st century," he said. "I'm optimistic this can happen. Our future demands it and our history proves it."

One hour earlier, a seemingly relieved and often smiling Gore conceded the election, while making clear his misgivings about its legitimacy.

"Let there be no doubt, while I strongly disagree with the court's decision, I accept it," he said.

During his seven-minute speech, Gore repeatedly urged the nation to move beyond the election dispute and to come together around Bush.

"For the sake of our unity as a people and the strength of our democracy, I offer my concession," he said. "What remains of partisan rancor must now be put aside."

Gore's speech also featured a fair dose of humor, a standard feature of concession speeches but unexpected in light of the extraordinary circumstances surrounding this one.

Minutes before the speech, Gore called Bush and conceded to him for a second time--the first coming in the wee hours of the morning 36 days ago, after television networks initially declared Bush the winner of Florida.

"I promised him that I wouldn't call him back this time," Gore said last night.

In his address, Bush said Gore's second concession was a "gracious call," saying he understood "how difficult this moment must be" for him.

The two rivals plan to meet in Washington on Tuesday.

The end to the race came one day after the U.S. Supreme Court, by a 5-4 majority, reversed a Florida Supreme Court decision to continue recounting tens of thousands of undervotes in the state, dealing the death blow to Gore's hopes for the presidency.

By a 7-2 vote, the court held per curiam that there were "constitutional problems" with the Florida Supreme Court's decision, and by a 5-4 vote ruled that there was nothing more the Florida court could do to fairly recount the state's ballots without disrupting the electoral process.

But while the court's decision effectively ended the election, the strongly worded opinions of the four dissenting justices revealed a deep divide on the court. In the most dramatic dissent, Justice John Paul Stevens said that his colleagues reflected an "unstated lack of confidence in the impartiality and capacity" of the Florida Supreme Court in siding with the Bush team's appeal, undermining the credibility of the nation's highest court.

In the decision's aftermath, even Republicans admit that Bush must convince the nation that the presidency confers upon him the legitimacy to govern.

Though he did not mention it last night, Gore won the popular vote by 330,000 votes. Bush officially won the make-or-break state of Florida by only 537 votes.

Yesterday, Bush moved to strengthen his claim to the presidency, reaching out to Democrats and reasserting his campaign promise to be a "uniter, not a divider."

Bush was introduced before his speech by the highest-ranking Democrat in his state, House Speaker Pete Laney, and he is considering appointing a few Democrats to Cabinet posts. In his speech, his mentioned one of Texas's most endearing politicians, the late lieutenant governor, Bob Bullock, a Democrat with whom he became close friends.

In the next few days, aides say, Bush will focus on making peace with bitter Democrats on Capitol Hill--but he will also begin announcing White House and Cabinet appointments.

At press time, Bush was considering holding a presidential-style news conference in Austin today, where he would be likely to name Colin Powell as secretary of state and former Stanford University provost Condoleezza Rice as national security adviser. Washington analysts expect him to name a Democrat, perhaps Louisiana Sen. John Breaux, to a cabinet post.

Bush is also expected to turn over the Texas governorship to Lt. Gov. Rick Perry in the next day or so.

While yesterday's long-awaited end to the campaign gave Bush the task of assembling an administration in record time, it left Gore to ponder his future.

Gore, 52, had reportedly been so embroiled in the past five weeks of legal wrangling that he had never spoken--out loud, at least--about where his life might turn in case of defeat. Aboard Air Force Two in September, the one-time newspaper reporter mused about possibly being "a writer of some kind."

Last night, Gore said he had not made any plans for the future, besides spending the holidays with his family and mending fences, both "literally and figuratively," back home in Tennessee.

But while he said little about his future last night, Gore gave a few hints that a third run for the presidency in 2004 is not out of the question.

His only regret, he said, was that he would not be able to fight for those whose voices had not been heard.

"I heard you and I will not forget," Gore said with a smile.

--Staff writer Edward B. Colby can be reached at ebcolby@fas.harvard.edu.