What voters said

In what was the defining moment of campaign coverage Tuesday night, GOP strategist Karl Rove told network commentators to back off on giving Florida to Al Gore. He said, in effect, that the vote was a lot more complicated than the network’s neatly colored maps were making it appear. And he was right. Election Day 2000 was a happy, messy day of high voter turnout, close finishes in a dozen states and, if Wednesday morning was a guide, an electorate interested in the politics of the nation.

Maine’s voter turnout was something over 70 percent, with several communities breaking 80 percent. The town of Holden reported its turnout at an admirable 86 percent. All numbers to celebrate.

In fairness to the television networks, they did correctly hold back on making predictions in many states, responsibly waiting for more definite numbers. Mr. Rove’s comments highlighted, however, that this election could not be called as the race in ’96 was called. Voters, some of whom endured hour-long waits, are to be thanked for that. In several states they showed up in record numbers to take part in the closest race in their lifetimes. The very uncertainty of the contest brought energy to campaigns that sometimes seemed to be about nothing more than a collection of tactics.

And while those TV election maps seemed to paint a simple pattern of support for George Bush or Mr. Gore – the Northeast for the vice president, the South and West for Gov. Bush, the West Coast for Mr. Gore – the poll numbers show that surprisingly few states were strongly for one candidate of the other.

For others in the media, say, talk-show hosts who thought Tuesday’s vote would be a referendum on Bill Clinton, voters had bad news for them, too. New York’s newest senator, of course, is first lady Hillary Clinton. Vice President Al Gore took the popular vote by 140,000 votes. Democrats in the Senate picked up a couple of seats, making future votes there as close as possible and making the big tax cuts envisioned by some in the GOP unlikely.

The 2000 presidential election will be talked about for many years to come. Those who participated in it by voting can claim a small place in history. Those who stayed home can kick themselves and mark Election Day 2004.