The Florida Vote: Next President Must Govern From the Center
GENE RANDALL, CNN ANCHOR: As this presidential campaign saga continues to engender partisan charges and countercharges, it promises to make things even more difficult for the eventual winner. And there is talk of so-called party wisemen -- both Republican and Democrat, at some point playing a role in helping heal the wounds of what we're going through as a country. Most of those lists include the name of Lee Hamilton, a former democratic member of Congress for 34 years; respected on both side of the aisle. Mr. Hamilton, good to see you.</s>LEE HAMILTON (D), FORMER U.S. REPRESENTATIVE: Thank you; nice to be with you.</s>RANDALL: By most accounts, Al Gore was ready to concede if the Florida Supreme Court went against him yesterday -- and that seems like light years ago. Do you foresee any kind of pendulum swing in public opinion toward the vice president now that there is a court order to recount underway?</s>HAMILTON: I don't think so. I think the American public opinion has been quite steady here. It's impressed me with how patient they have been as we've gone through all of the processes here to try to select a president. Indeed, I think they have confidence in our underlying institutions. And I think they will be a source of stability throughout; for the next president as well.</s>RANDALL: Do you think it's possible that what happened yesterday with the Florida Supreme Court will end up complicating the situation for the next president, whoever it is? Tom DeLay, the GOP whip in the House called the court engaging in an act of aggression.</s>HAMILTON: I don't think I'd agree with that terminology...</s>RANDALL: But doesn't this get to the issue of partisan rancor that will outlast this campaign, making it even tougher for whoever, eventually, is the winner?</s>HAMILTON: The next president is going to have a very difficult political environment to deal with, and it's going to take a high level of political skills. But it will not be an unmanageable situation. He's going to be able to govern if he reaches out to the opposition, if he governs from the center, if he is pragmatic, not ideological. This country can be governed -- and, furthermore, the expectations of the people at this point are not all that high, and politics is often a function of expectations; so I think people are unduly pessimistic when they talk about gridlock.</s>RANDALL: Well, would this be an opportunity, over the next four years, for the political middle to become a critical force in Washington?</s>HAMILTON: Oh, no question about it. With an electorate split down the middle like it was, this stunningly close election, the center is going to be where the action is. And the moderate members of the Republican and the Democratic Parties are going to have the cloud in the Congress.</s>RANDALL: On the one hand you have the issue of legitimacy for a president; the Electoral College vote usually takes care of that. on the other hand you have the issue of potency -- the kind of power a president will have. How does either one of these men at this point -- Al Gore or George W. Bush -- claim any kind of mandate for his agenda? Excuse me Mr. Hamilton, I've got to break away to Joie Chen for some breaking news.