Election 2000: The Florida Gambit

If the contests drag on, G.O.P. legislators might just go ahead and pick their own electors

Tom Feeney may be the only man more influential in Florida than football king Bobby Bowden. So when the Bush campaign issued a midnight call-to-arms after the Florida Supreme Court's decision last Wednesday, Feeney was ready. With the seething contempt of a coach behind at half time, the new Republican speaker of the Florida House of Representatives tore into the ruling. "The Florida Supreme Court could have given us a resolution," he said. "Instead, I fear, it has given us a potential constitutional crisis."

And with that, America reached DefCon 1, with Feeney's finger just above the glowing red button....

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