November 23, 2000, Thursday, Final Edition

Victory and Defeat in 24 Hours; Legal Moves Take Gore's Presidential Hopes on Roller-Coaster Ride

Ceci Connolly , Washington Post Staff Writer

SECTION: A SECTION; Pg. A24

LENGTH: 675 words

When he rose yesterday morning, Al Gore was in such good spirits he was cracking jokes about counting. The Florida Supreme Court's decision Tuesday night to include manual recounts truly did give the vice president something to be thankful for as he packed Thanksgiving meals at a charity in Southeast Washington.

But by the time his motorcade deposited him back at the Naval Observatory, his presidential prospects once again had dimmed--and Gore was mustering his team for a new legal skirmish. Officials in Miami-DadeCounty had halted their count, an especially troubling development for Gore since the county is said to hold the greatest trove of undercounted Democratic votes.

Over 24 years in politics, Gore has tasted victory and defeat. But not until this month has he sampled both in the span of 24 hours--several times.

From his mansion on Massachusetts Avenue, Gore continues to plot his course. Late Tuesday, he brainstormed with speechwriter Eli Attie about how to respond to the imminent Supreme Court ruling.

At 9:15 p.m., when he learned the decision was 30 minutes away, Gore summoned campaign chairman William Daley, adviser Carter Eskew and speechwriters Robert Shrum and Attie to his house. As the ruling was announced on television, the rest of the Gore team was gathered on a conference call to quickly craft a response. Running mate Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman, his wife, Hadassah, a staff photographer, the media and a TelePrompter arrived soon after.

Though a group effort, it was Gore who wrote the most intriguing passage: "Because we now know that this process is going to take more time, I believe it's now appropriate for both of us to focus on the transition to ensure that the new administration, whoever leads it, will be fully in place and fully prepared to lead," he said.

One day later, Gore aides were still hard-pressed to explain what he meant. One said the vice president was interested in determining who in the Clinton administration wishes to continue on if he wins. Several said they suspected Gore wanted the latitude to begin preliminary conversations and the symbolic boost transition talk can bring.

Despite his remark, Gore's transition effort is limited by law from doing much more than compiling lists of tasks and possible personnel, setting up agency study teams and sounding out prospective nominees. Those activities had been undertaken---by both campaigns--even before the election.

The 1988 Presidential Transitions Effectiveness Act appears to bar the General Services Administration and other federal agencies from releasing more than $5 million in transition funds until an official winner has been certified. In addition, none of the briefings and other materials usually made available to an incoming administration are available.

Most important, the critical move of getting the names of potential nominees into the background clearance process--so the FBI, IRS and government ethics officers can begin their lengthy vetting--cannot be made.

"You don't start a transition and don't activate the wheels of government unless you are acting on behalf of the recognized president-elect," said transition expert Paul Light of the Brookings Institution.

In what has become a familiar pattern, Gore's temporarily ebullient team went underground yesterday afternoon as lawyers headed to court to challenge the Miami-Dade election canvassing board. A few said privately that without counting those ballots it seemed increasingly likely George W. Bush would win.

Fortunately for Gore, that bad news came after his only public appearance. Sporting blue jeans and denim work shirt, he, his wife, Tipper, and daughter Kristin unloaded six boxes of food at the Metropolitan Police Boys and Girls Club in Southeast. Then the three joined other Project Harvest volunteers in an assembly line to pass the boxes bucket-brigade style.

With a grin, the vice president asked: "We don't have to count these boxes, do we?"

Staff writer Al Kamen contributed to this report.