Friday, 10 November 2000
.....
It's clear that the American people have expressed no particular preference for which of the two so-called major party candidates is the "best" man to lead us for the next four years. One man leads the popular vote, the other arguably leads the electoral vote. And now both threaten to put us through weeks, if not months, of constitutional wrangling to determine the "real" winner.
But there is a way out of this mess, and unlikely as it may be, it is a good way.
The upcoming presidential term, no matter who is in office, will be a difficult one. A divided people and a divided Congress will make the Presidency tenuous. Given that we are in for a bumpy ride in any case, one man can concede before this goes any further.
I suggest that the better man should concede. And no, I'm not saying who I believe that is; any number of pundits could make a grand case that the better man is not even in the top two.
But consider this.
Whoever ultimately becomes president this January will not be re-elected. In fact, his party will most likely lose the Congress in 2002 and the White House in 2004, no matter who their candidate is. Therefore, both candidates being relatively young and certainly able to run for president again, someone needs to be the big man and release his electors, allow the other man to win, and prepare to reap the rewards in the elections of 2002 and 2004.
By turning over the country to his enemy, our loser makes himself, and his party, much stronger. And by bowing out, he scores the moral victory, one which will resonate with the electorate for years to come.
This is The Case for Concession <http://monkeyfist.com/articles/715>