General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Yes, Nader cost Al Gore the presidency in 2000. [View all]unblock
(56,199 posts)the final official margin was 537 votes in florida.
improper hand-washing and spoiled food served at a few seafood restaurants in florida could have kept that many democrats home sick on election day.
by any reasonable measure such things are noise.
other things, such as media bias and third-worldly vote-counting procedures, make a far bigger difference across many more pivotal states.
as for gore running a lousy campaign, it only seems that way because the media was so incredibly biased. gore tromped shrub in the debates but the media insisted he sighed too loudly into the microphone. shrub jumped like a scared little deer when gore casually walked over (a well-established practice by the taller candidate in such debates) and the media called gore a bully.
shrub, on the other hand, ran a pathetic, gaffe-prone campaign, but the media called him charming and in touch with the common man whenever he said something ignorant or stupid or inept.
no one can run a competent campaign if the press is going to call it like that.