Just two notes on Al Gore's speech today:

First, he was very clear that he would respect and wouldn't challenge the results of the recounts, whether it's just those hand recounts in progress, or the full hand recount of the state. The media has interpreted this to letting up on all the legal battles, but it doesn't say anything about the Palm Beach suits regarding confusion and the overal usability of the Palm Beach ballots. My guess is that no matter what Bush's response is, Gore will still want those suits to go forward.

Second, a full hand recount, like the limited hand recounts in Palm Beach, will only provide evidence for the usability cases. When hand counts are performed, they record doublepunch statistics, specifically which combinations were punched how often. If doublepunching patterns in Palm Beach are shown to be substantially different than in all other counties in Florida, this is valuable evidence towards the necessity of a revote.

I'm not condoning any actions here. I'm just trying to bring what I see as the subtext to light.

Is it just me, or did Gore sound like he was talking to a class of second-graders? That and he was absolutely glued to the teleprompters, but that's neither here nor there.