[Times photos: Lisa DeJong] David Gergen shakes the hand of a Festival of Reading patron as the author signs books Saturday. The event continues today.

Presidents' adviser: It's time to put nation first

The courtroom is no place to decide this presidential election, David Gergen tells the Festival of Reading crowd.

By MONIQUE FIELDS

© St. Petersburg Times, published November 12, 2000

ST. PETERSBURG -- Early this week, Texas Gov. George W. Bush and Vice President Al Gore should come together, put the country first and say they will accept the official outcome of recounts in the state, said David Gergen, an adviser to four presidents -- three Republicans and one Democrat.

Catie Thomas, 10, is thrilled to find books in the "Goosebumps" series by her favorite author, R. L. Stine, at the Festival of Reading on Saturday.

"The moment has come in this election cycle for somebody, or somebodies, to stand up and be counted as statesmen," Gergen told more than 700 people at the St. Petersburg Times Festival of Reading on Saturday at Eckerd College.

"If we go beyond Friday and start taking it to the courts to resolve the election, we are opening Pandora's box," he said.

Such a move, he said, would never allow a president to govern and would strip the office of its legitimacy.

Gergen's comments were the highlight of the festival attended by more than 7,000 people, who flocked to the tree-lined campus in search of good writing.

The election was the buzz of the festival as many moved inside to hear Gergen's take on the matter. Gergen didn't disappoint them, saying there were at least two other times when political parties could have contested the election -- and didn't.

The first was in 1960 when John F. Kennedy beat Richard Nixon, said Gergen, the author of Eyewitness to Power: The Essence of Leadership, Nixon to Clinton. There were rumblings about Nixon calling for recounts in several states. But Nixon feared a recount could harm U.S. relations overseas and that it could drag on for 18 months.

Similar talk surfaced again in 1976 when Jimmy Carter edged out Gerald Ford, Gergen said. Ford, too, didn't pursue the matter and conceded.

Those men come from generations gone by, generations that believed "when the chips are down, the country comes first."

Unlike those before them, today's leaders didn't have World War I or World War II to bind their generation together. The generation of today's leaders -- President Clinton, Vice President Al Gore, Trent Lott, Newt Gingrich and George W. Bush -- was not defined by a war, but rather by a social revolution.

The nation made great strides in civil rights and women's rights in the 1960s, but there was no "common purpose" or "common sacrifice" for the generation to identify with, Gergen said.

Judging by the applause, most of Gergen's audience agreed with him.

"It's a good idea," said Maurine Horsman of Treasure Island. "We do need some healing and to think about the country rather than the individual parties."

Outside, the sights and sounds of the event were more festive.

About a dozen children lifted stuffed dolphins, sting rays, and sharks in the air as they listened to A Visit to the Sesame Street Aquarium, a story about sea creatures.

"I didn't know that there was beluga," Molly Quinn, 7, said after the reading.

Adults also did their share of listening, taking in stories of famous dead authors, including Jack London.

"I get the feeling they have not really died," said Ruth Samuel of Clearwater. "They are still here through their writing."

Across the way and a few tents over, young poets shared the written word with an intimate audience.

"I don't want you to wait," said Crystal Kyes, 16, as she read her poem The Reasons Why.

"I don't want to lead you on. Go ahead, find a date. I want you to move on."

She didn't even know she could write before she saw her sister pen a few verses six years ago.

"I want to one day publish," she said, following her second reading in public. "I want to be a writer."

The festival continues today with a full slate of writers. Ronald Reagan biographer Edmund Morris, author of Dutch: A Memoir, steps up at 10 a.m.; PBS commentator Roger Rosenblatt, author of Rules for Aging at 10:15; feminist novelist and commentator bell hooks discusses her newest work, All About Love, at 2 p.m.; and investigative journalist Peter Maas will introduce readers to his The Terrible Hours: The Man Behind the Greatest Submarine Rescue in History at noon.

The lineup also includes thriller writer James Patterson at 11:15 a.m. and true crime author Ann Rule at 3:15 p.m. A mystery writers panel begins at 10:15 a.m., an e-books panel starts at 10:30 and a baseball panel, featuring sports writer Peter Golenbock and baseball's Johnny Morris, begins at 11.

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