It's been three weeks, and -- to the dismay of some Penn students -- the presidential election is far from over. After several recounts, court cases and numerous speeches, the country is still without an official president-elect. Some students, like many citizens across the United States, have had enough of pregnant chads and butterfly ballots. Depending on whom you ask, certainty of a winner was either determined Sunday night or was cast further in doubt. "Even though everyone's sick of hearing about it, they shouldn't rest until we can be relatively certain of a real winner," College senior Cara Kearney said. Texas Gov. George W. Bush would have you believe that Florida's 25 electoral votes, now certified by Secretary of State Katherine Harris, guarantee that he will be the 43rd president. Vice President Al Gore, on the other hand, points to the courts, indicating that the battle for the White House is far from over. The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments over the manual recount in Miami-Dade County, Fla., on Friday. "I say [Gore and his supporters] should take as long as they need until December 12," when Florida must by law officially select its presidential electors, said Kearney, a Gore voter. But some say that the election question has gone on long enough and that it's time for Gore to pack it up and call it quits. "Gore tries too hard," College junior Brian Zhong said. "He should be more like a man." Zhong contends that Gore should just concede and then run again in 2004. "To himself, [challenging the results] might be the right thing to do, but this is too aggressive," he said. Bush voters couldn't agree more. "[Gore's] going to lose a lot of support, even from Democrats," said College junior Eric Weingart, who voted for Bush. "The sense of the public is that it's gone on long enough." Even some Gore supporters say the vice president should concede before he loses not only the presidential race but the vital race for public opinion, as well. "What's fair is fair," College junior Christine Page said. "What came out is that Bush won." Page, who voted for Gore, pointed out that he could end up losing in the long run if he defeats Bush. "If, for some reason, he becomes president, he'll have [public opinion] to deal with," she said. But Gore, and many of his supporters, maintain that truth is on their side. "Unless you're in denial, you have to admit that Gore was the intended winner," Wharton sophomore Madhan Gounder said, contending that the Texas governor "won by a technicality." "If anyone should withdraw, it should be Bush," said Gounder. Still, Bush supporters feel they backed a winner and cite the vote in Florida, where the official Bush lead now stands at 537 votes. "It's not really a question of time, it's a matter of accuracy," Weingart said. "[Recounts leave] more room for fraud."
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