When Al Gore set aside partisan rancour 25 years ago

Twenty-five years ago this month, the words of one good man uneasily brought us all together.

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Al Gore did not have to concede Florida and with it, the 2000 presidential election and America’s future. With just 537 Florida votes separating him and George W. Bush, the US Supreme Court ordered an end to the recount of thousands of Florida votes. As a result, Gore could not know for certain that he had lost, and Bush could not know for certain he had won, according to the Tribune News Service.A court decided the winner. Gore and Joe Lieberman could have kept fighting, and Bush's camp could have sold a lot more “Sore Loserman” T-shirts (they're still on eBay, for $12). Gore could have rallied angry supporters, feeding their outrage, especially after ballot studies that indicated Gore could have won. He could have challenged the legitimacy of GOP wins at every turn. He could have endlessly (and justifiably) hammered home the message that five Supreme Court justices, not the people, picked a president.