Election briefs

Compiled from Times wires

© St. Petersburg Times, published November 26, 2000

For Bush and Cheney, a day of rest, movies

AUSTIN, Texas -- George W. Bush returned to his Governor's Mansion on Saturday after a day relaxing at his ranch in Crawford.

Dressed in a blue shirt and jeans, Bush walked out into the street where hundreds of supporters greeted his motorcade.

He waved, gave a thumbs-up and held up three fingers forming a W sign, but did not say anything.

Bush later went to his doctor's office for a follow-up visit about a boil on the side of his face. He looked as if he'd gotten some sun on his face -- aides said he took a long walk around the ranch with his parents -- and a round red mark about the size of quarter was visible on one side.

Bush's running mate, Dick Cheney, spent Saturday at his home in McLean, Va., under orders to take the weekend off from working. Cheney, who suffered a mild heart attack and had surgery to repair a blocked artery on Wednesday, had been heading up Bush's transition business.

The 59-year-old former defense secretary left the hospital Friday looking pale but strong enough to walk to his car, wave and speak to reporters.

Aides said he was feeling good Saturday. Cheney went to the movies in the afternoon with his wife, Lynne, and David Hume Kennerly, a friend who is a photographer for Newsweek. The three saw Men of Honor at a Washington theater, aides said.

Cheney was evidently keeping a toe in the water on the recount front. He participated in a conference call with the Bush team and was watching reports on television about the Florida recount.

Bush returned to Austin for the certification of votes in Florida, expected sometime after the 5 p.m. recounting deadline today, but his aides have given no indication how the governor will respond if the certification gives him Florida's 25 electoral votes -- or whether he will declare himself the winner and president-elect.

"He won the count twice; we think he'll win it again," said Don Evans, who was outside the Governor's Mansion in Austin greeting supporters. "We'll wait until tomorrow night to see what the count is."

Legislature's Democrats don't want lawyers hired

TALLAHASSEE -- State House Democrats aren't happy with the GOP leadership's plan to hire lawyers to join in George W. Bush's presidential recount lawsuit before the U.S. Supreme Court.

The House Democrats, outnumbered 77-43, also aren't pleased with the makeup of a special committee set to meet Tuesday to discuss voting irregularities.

The Republican legislative leadership said Friday it would hire lawyers to represent the Legislature, seeking to intervene as the Supreme Court considers the state's ongoing recount.

But during a conference call meeting of the House Democratic caucus Saturday evening, several Democratic lawmakers expressed concern that the Legislature's position as expressed by the lawyers would be a partisan one.

Rep. Lois Frankel, the minority leader, said Democrats would object to that.

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