THE POPCORN REEL SPECIAL "RECOUNT"
PAGE
"Recount"
Kevin Spacey as Ron Klain and Denis Leary as Michael
Whouley in "Recount", directed by Jay Roach. The film will premiere on HBO
on Sunday May 25 and repeated on the following night. (Photo: HBO Films)
Eight Years Ago, In A Land Not So Very Far Away . . .
By
Omar P.L. Moore/The
Popcorn Reel
May 22, 2008
Do you remember what happened eight years ago on November
7, 2000 and in the 36 days that followed in the recount battle in Florida between
then-vice president Al Gore and then-Texas governor George W. Bush?
Below are some essential materials to get you reacquainted with the events of
2000 in this 2008 U.S. presidential election year.
The 2000 U.S.
presidential election was one of the most extraordinary events to occur in
American politics in many years. There have been divisive fights on the
convention floor in both the main political parties in the U.S. during some
prior presidential campaigns over the years to be sure, but the 2000 election in
the state of Florida, where critical turning points such as then-governor Jeb
Bush's Florida governor's government payment of $4.3 million to private company
Data Base Technologies to engage in the wholesale purging from the voting rolls
of up to 100,000 legally-registered law-abiding black voters in Florida,
complicated and unclear ballots in predominantly democratic voting Florida
districts, the turning away of black voters in many parts of Florida and the
unusual, controversial and unprecedented U.S. Supreme Court decision Bush v.
Gore, which the Court in a 5-to-4 decision exercised a dangerous federal
jurisdiction over state affairs by ruling that the Florida Supreme Court erred
in its decision to allow the recount process in the state to continue -- all of
these factors and others contributed to turning around the election, handing the
25 electoral college votes of Florida to Mr. Bush and thus awarding the Texas
governor the keys to the White House in what would be a fateful, one-time only
High Court decision binding only in this unique and singular case.
Jay Roach's marvelous film examines all of these events in an excellent
political drama that is riveting and thrilling to watch. The Popcorn Reel
film review of "Recount" is
here.
"Recount" premieres on HBO cable in the U.S. on May 25 at 9 p.m. Eastern and
Pacific time and is repeated on May 26 at the same time. The film will
play throughout June on the pay television channel.
Here are the reading materials and links to audio, documents and news stories from The
New York Times, The Guardian, The British Broadcasting Corporation, U.S. News,
Public Broadcasting Service, Cable
News Network, The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, The Washington Post, and the actual U.S. Supreme Court Bush v. Gore decision which was
made on December 12, 2000.
Other recommended sources: The book The Best Democracy Money Can Buy, by
Greg Palast (see chapter two, "Jim Crow In Cyberspace"); documentary films
"Fahrenheit 9/11" and "Unprecedented: The Story of the 2000 Presidential
Election".
Countless other books and documentaries have been written and made about the
2000 U.S. presidential election.
2000 U.S. PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION-RELATED ONLINE NEWSPAPER ARTICLES, DECISIONS,
AUDIO, VIDEO AND
CHARTS
The Election In
Quotes, November 8, 2000 (BBC News)
Lead Story on the 2000 U.S. Presidential
Election by Richard Berke, November 8, 2000 (The New York Times)
R.W. Apple's
Analysis, November 8, 2000 (The New York Times)
Cries Of Foul Play In
The Sunshine State, November 9, 2000 (The Guardian)
The Timeline In The
Aftermath of the 2000 U.S. presidential election -- from November 12, 2000 to
December 13, 2000, (U.S. News)
The Definition Of A
Chad, November 23, 2000 (BBC News)
Florida Vote Counters
Under Pressure, November 23, 2000 (BBC News)
Transcript Of
The Oral Arguments Made Before The U.S. Supreme Court on December 1, 2000
(The New York Times)
The Controversial U.S.
Supreme Court Decision Bush v. Gore -- Including The Equally Important
Dissenting Opinions), December 13, 2000 (PDF File)
"The
Day America's Judges Became Politicians", December 13, 2000 (The Guardian)
Governor George W.
Bush's Acceptance Speech, December 13, 2000 (CNN)
BBC News State By State 2000 U.S. Presidential Election Results Clickable Map
Complete CNN Election
2000 Coverage
CBS News Coverage of
Election Night 2000 - PDF, January 2001
"Jeb Bush Grilled On
Voting Irregularities", January 12, 2001 (The Guardian)
"Recount Shows Gore
Had Won", March 12, 2001 (The Guardian)
"Media Recount: Bush
Won The 2000 Election", April 3, 2001 (PBS)
Covering Election
2000: A Media Watch Special Report, August 21, 2001 (PBS)
The 2000 Presidential
Election Report, November 2001 (U.S. Commission On Civil Rights)
Democracy Counts: The
Media Consortium Florida Ballot Project, August 2002, PDF (The Washington
Post)
MULTIMEDIA - You Tube
MSNBC News Coverage on Florida Vote, November 8,
2000
"Unprecedented: The Story of the 2000 Presidential Election" (2004 Campaign
edition) - first 10 minutes
"Outfoxed": Interviewee Discusses U.S. News Mainstream Media Networks' Error In
Prematurely Calling The 2000 Election
Vice President Al Gore's Concession Speech,
December 13, 2000
"RECOUNT" materials
The Popcorn Reel Film Review: "Recount"
Go to the HBO "Recount" website
Copyright The Popcorn Reel. PopcornReel.com. 2008. All Rights Reserved.