GORE DEFENDING SMALLER -- NOT LARGER -- PRINCIPLES

Al Gore and Joe Lieberman say their motive in refusing to acknowledge their thrice-confirmed defeat is to defend the "larger principle" that every vote must count. I wonder if even one in four people believe them. If they keep this up, it won't be one in 10.

Rather, they are defending the "smaller principles" that every Gore vote must count at least once and that they must win at all costs.

What we are witnessing is an unparalleled demonstration of arrogance and self-indulgence. Do they really believe that their leadership is so important to the nation that all principles can be sacrificed?

I suppose Gore and Lieberman think most of us in middle-America rode in on pumpkin trucks. But surely even imbeciles wouldn't have been fooled by that hokey televised conference call they staged with Dick Gephardt and Tom Daschle. To call it sophomoric would be abundantly generous.

Isn't anyone in the Democratic Party getting embarrassed yet? Isn't there some point beyond which rank-and-file Democrats will withdraw their support?

Try to imagine Gore and Lieberman as our children -- which isn't much of a stretch, actually -- and how, as parents, we would deal with them. When they initially lost the automatic recount, wouldn't we -- in order to instill in them a firm moral foundation -- have told them to accept defeat graciously? After promising that they would accept the result of the manual recount, they reneged when it didn't produce a victory for them. Just like class bullies, they keep changing the goalposts.

It's bad enough when the class troublemaker throws a tantrum when he doesn't get his way, but we are talking about the vice president of the United States and his running mate. Gore learned well from the master.

Don't fool yourself. Gore's objections to the election were not formulated after he observed fraud or anomalies in the Florida election. They were part of a pre-formulated strategy conceived in the war room to create the illusion of substantial irregularities to justify a post-election judicial coup.

What Gore didn't anticipate was that popular opinion would turn against him. He is said to be stunned by Bush's post-election PR success. But this isn't about PR. Not everything is spinnable. I have a renewed confidence in America as I watch the Clinton-Gore propaganda machine finally being checkmated by the scrutiny of an acutely engaged electorate.

Several months ago, I ridiculed the idea advanced by some conservatives that Clinton intended to remain in office beyond January 2001. How ridiculous.

Well, how much different is that from what is going on? Like a spoiled brat who thinks America exists solely for his and Gore's pleasure and designs, Clinton has instructed the GSA not to turn over the keys and transition money to president-elect Bush. Listen to me, Bill and Al: Those are not your keys, and it is not your money.

In the immortal words of Glinda the Good Witch, "Be gone. You have no power here."

~David Limbaugh of Cape Girardeau is a nationally syndicated columnist.