Column: Lessons learned from Election 2000

They will be talking about Election 2000 a century from now.

After every precinct in every county in every state throughout the land had been heard from, the outcome of the presidential contest was still in doubt. Not for several days, or weeks, after Americans went to the polls would they know who would occupy the White House the next four years.

But it is not only because of the closeness of the presidential race that the "Cliffhanger of 2000" will be long remembered. It is also because of the lessons this historic election provided. Among them:

1. That every vote does count

Nearly 100 million votes were cast throughout the nation. But at the end of the day, the entire presidential election turned on less than 2,000 votes in Florida.

Indeed, if just one vote for George W. Bush in each precinct in, say, Miami-Dade County had gone instead to Al Gore, the Democrat would have clinched the presidency on the strength of the Sunshine State's 25 electoral votes.

Outgoing President Clinton summed it up best the day after the election when he remarked: "If ever there was a doubt about exercising democracy's most fundamental right, the right to vote, yesterday it was put to rest. No American will ever be able to seriously say again, 'my vote doesn't count.'"

2. That television has a corrupting influence on the democratic process

The networks disgraced themselves by prematurely and erroneously declaring a Gore victory in Florida. They made the call even before the polls had closed in the Florida panhandle (which is one hour behind the rest of the state). In so doing, they almost certainly depressed late turnout by Republicans in that region of the state.

And who knows if the networks' irresponsible call on Florida had a skewing effect on the electoral results in other states? Indeed, when CNN, MSNBC, FOX, CBS and ABC put Florida in Gore's column -- after already declaring him the victor in Michigan -- the Democrat seemed a shoo-in to win the Electoral College.

The Republican faithful in key Midwestern and Western states (like Wisconsin and Iowa) had to be far less inclined to vote after they heard the discouraging news (followed by reports that Gore had captured Pennsylvania). And by the time the networks finally corrected themselves, the polls had closed in most states.

And if it was not egregious enough that the networks got the pivotal Florida battle wrong early on, they committed almost the same offense later in the evening. They declared Bush the victor in the Sunshine State and anointed him the next president of the United States.

As the hours passed, it became clearer that the margin of votes separating Bush and Gore was extremely small (less than one-tenth of 1 percent). So they rescinded their call on both Florida and the overall presidential election.

Their credibility may never recover.

3. That the Electoral College is an anachronism

Even those of us who voted for Bush have to acknowledge misgivings that any candidate could win the White House without winning the popular vote. Of course, it has happened on two previous occasions. But it has been more than a century since the nation has been faced with such an unsatisfying split decision.

That is not to suggest, by any means, that Bush, or any other candidate who prevails in the Electoral College while falling short on the popular vote, is somehow undeserving of the presidency. The Constitution clearly states that the president is chosen by the Electoral College. The question is whether the Constitution should be amended to provide for direct election of the president.

4. That America remains the world's greatest democracy

Even with the recount of ballots in Florida, even with the outcome of the presidential election hanging in the balance, there is comfort in knowing that, when the process is completed, the American people will accept the final verdict.

There will be no attempted coups by the losing party's leaders; no riots in the streets by the losing party's rank and file. There will be a peaceful and orderly transition come next January, when the nation's 43rd president is sworn into office. On that day, party differences will be set aside -- if only temporarily -- as we, the people, formally validate the democratic principles for which this republic stands.

Joseph Perkins is a columnist for The San Diego Union-Tribune and can be reached at Joseph.Perkins@UnionTrib.com.