Monday, April 29, 2013

Hindsite is 20/20

By Jeff Simpson

With the opening of the George W Bush Presidential library, we keep revisiting his presidency.Now retired Justice Sandra Day O Conner is weighing in:


Former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor expressed doubt Friday about the decision to take the 2000 Bush v. Gore case that resulted in the election of President George W. Bush.

"It took the case and decided it at a time when it was still a big election issue," O'Connor told the Chicago Tribune editorial board in an interview. "Maybe the court should have said, 'We're not going to take it, goodbye.'"

"Obviously the court did reach a decision and thought it had to reach a decision," she said. "It turned out the election authorities in Florida hadn't done a real good job there and kind of messed it up. And probably the Supreme Court added to the problem at the end of the day."

The Florida Supreme Court ordered a manual recount on Dec. 8, 2000, of all Florida votes in the 2000 presidential election between Vice President Al Gore and Bush, then the governor of Texas. But a 5-4 Supreme Court majority, including O'Connor, ordered an injunction the next day. The Supreme Court ruled on Dec. 12 in a decision "limited to the present circumstances" that the Florida recount was unconstitutional, giving Bush the presidency.
Justice John Paul Stevens has also joined the "we messed up" bandwagon!




4 comments:

  1. Whew! I feel so much better now. Good thing they didn't set any precedent.

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  2. I'm really sorry about what happened. I didn't mean for things to work out like they did. But, I was hung over, taking too many sleeping pills, my home life wasn't good and with all the pressure I was under, one thing led to another and I just snapped. It was like a freaking out-of-body experience. I still can't believe I did it. In retrospect, all I can really say is "Oh shit". I'm so ashamed and truly sorry. Can you forgive me?

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  3. this shouldn't be the only regret she has over this case. it was reported that on election night she was at a dinner party, and when one of the networks projected gore as the winner, she openly expressed dismay. once this was publicized, she should have recused herself from consideration of this case.

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  4. May she suffer lifelong hatred equal to that that Jane Fonda has faced since Vietnam. Judged by that single action in her life.

    You tell me who has done more to damage our democracy Sandy or Jane?

    My vote is Sandy! GOP Sandy!

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