Message-ID: <10867391.1075856471725.JavaMail.evans@thyme> Date: Fri, 17 Nov 2000 08:27:00 -0800 (PST) From: vince.kaminski@enron.com To: vkaminski@aol.com Subject: Election Update 11/17 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-From: Vince J Kaminski X-To: vkaminski@aol.com X-cc: X-bcc: X-Folder: \Vincent_Kaminski_Jun2001_3\Notes Folders\Sent X-Origin: Kaminski-V X-FileName: vkamins.nsf ---------------------- Forwarded by Vince J Kaminski/HOU/ECT on 11/17/2000 04:35 PM --------------------------- Robert Johnston 11/17/2000 10:22 AM To: Mike McConnell/HOU/ECT@ECT, Gary Hickerson/HOU/ECT@ECT, Jeffrey A Shankman/HOU/ECT@ECT, Joe Gold/LON/ECT@ECT, Mark Schroeder/LON/ECT@ECT, Vince J Kaminski/HOU/ECT@ECT cc: William Stuart/HOU/ECT@ECT, Jeff Kinneman/HOU/ECT@ECT, Michelle D Cisneros/HOU/ECT@ECT, Pushkar Shahi/HOU/ECT@ECT, Paul Pizzolato/HOU/ECT@ECT, John Greene/LON/ECT@ECT, Ellen Su/Corp/Enron@Enron, Steve Jacobellis/NA/Enron@Enron, Eric Scott/HOU/ECT@ECT, Kristin Walsh/HOU/ECT@ECT, Trena McFarland/NA/Enron@Enron, Scott Tholan/Corp/Enron@Enron, Kristin Walsh/HOU/ECT@ECT, John A Cote/HOU/ECT@ECT, Cynthia Sandherr/Corp/Enron@ENRON, Chris Long/Corp/Enron@ENRON, Jeffrey Keeler/Corp/Enron@ENRON, James D Steffes/NA/Enron@Enron, Shane Dallmann/LON/ECT@ECT, Aaron Armstrong/LON/ECT@ECT, Jurgen Hess/LON/ECT@ECT, Martina Angelova/LON/ECT@ECT, J Christopher Champion/HOU/ECT@ECT, Jim Roth/EU/Enron@Enron, Richard Shapiro/NA/Enron@Enron Subject: Election Update 11/17 We have said the election is in the hands of the courts; the courts and momentum are now swinging toward the Bush camp. The unequivocal ruling by Leon County circuit Judge Terry Lewis rejecting the plea by Democrats and affirming that Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris did indeed exercise her discretion in rejecting the hand recounts totals represents a stunning setback for Vice President Al Gore. "It appears that the secretary has exercised her reasoned judgment to determine what relevant factors and criteria should be considered ... my order requires nothing more," the terse Lewis verdict read. It means the certification of the Florida vote is likely to proceed on Saturday, with Secretary of State Harris certain to declare Bush the winner and give Florida's 25 electoral votes to Bush and thus put him over the top with 271 electoral votes. This is not formally over as the Democrats are likely to immediately appeal the Lewis decision to the Florida State Supreme Court and other legal challenges are still pending (e.g. the Palm Beach butterfly ballot challenge). But it will be an extremely difficult path from here. For now Palm Beach and Broward are still recounting, waiting for the Supreme Court to tell them to stop much like they waited to be told to start. If they are told to stop, then it is obviously over. The Gore campaign staff will also have to move quickly to send their appeal to the State Supreme Court. But the Court may not even hear the appeal, for proving Harris did not act with discretion -- already difficult as the Lewis ruling showed -- will become even more difficult on appeal. The Democrats now have to race against time as their last remaining asset is to "leak" a hand recount total that would have put Gore ahead -- if Harris had accepted them. But as the legal options dwindle, and the court of public opinion becomes even more important, the Lewis ruling and the inevitable Harris certification (barring intercession by Florida's Supreme Court) tomorrow provides the Republicans with a powerful public relations weapon to turn public opinion sharply in favor of calling the race over. Of course we are still waiting for the approximately 2300 overseas absentee ballots to be counted and there is a small possibility that these may help Gore. However, Bush has won over 60% of the overseas absentee ballots received to date.