McBride wins, expected to name Rossin running mate; Reno concedes

Thanks for the info. Since the spread was less than 0.5% I wasn't sure regarding the details of the automatic recount, ie time from election et. Fun to look back. The night of election I predicted here at Freerepublic McBride by about 4200 votes by running the percents of outstanding votes at the time. I believe it was eventually abount 4700 votes. As we say the Best Man won!

There are three education amendments on the ballot this year. The one I think your cousin is referring to is the one to mandate a reduction in class size. Obviously, this is a really popular amendment from the Teachers' Union's point of view. It's also astronomically expensive, estimated at $20 - $27.5 billion. Bush has, IMHO correctly, opposed it. Education in Florida is a big issue in this election and I'm inclined to agree with your cousin, Bush is on the defensive.

Re post #64 - Yehuda, I think caltrop gave a thoughtful and truthful reply in terms of his opinion, but, IMO, I also think Gov. Bush is already responding to the potential criticism, by some, about his position on the Class Size amendment. To see what I mean, check out this new press release from the Bush campaign: CLICK HERE.

My own feeling is that McLawyer is getting a lot of publicity right now because (a) he is a new face; and (b) he is NOT Janet Reno.

But after this "news" fades, the nitty gritty comes into play in FL, and here in FL, you have the majority of voters AGAINST everything mentioned so far by McLawyer: raise taxes, raise more taxes and raise more taxes. FL is one of the most anti-tax states in this country. We still don't have a state income tax. But, who knows what McLawyer would try to do about this situation?

There are a lot of elderly people in FL living on fixed incomes, and they will vote AGAINST proposed state increases every time. They may not be the loudest ones in the state in terms of rallies, but they certainly can be counted upon to show up at the polls. GW won the senior citizen demographic in FL in Nov 2000, and I am certain Gov Bush will win it this year.

In addition, some of Reno's gay supporters may sit this election out, because to them, McLaywer is Bush II, since McLawyer is NOT Reno.

Finally, and most importantly -- in addition to the gains Gov Bush has made in the Hispanic community -- he will win this election, thanks to the following block of voters who determine the outcome of every election in FL: independents.

It may be publicized as a "tight race" but in the end, count on FL independents to vote for Gov Bush. This will put Gov Bush over the top.

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