8:55 p.m. November 27, 2000: Gore Explains Contesting of Florida Election on National Television

Five minutes before the start of the Monday Night Football broadcast, Vice President Al Gore delivers a brief, nationally televised address defending his decision to contest the election (see November 27, 2000). “Our Constitution matters more than convenience,” he tells viewers. All he wants, he says, is “a complete count of all the votes cast in Florida,” noting that “many thousands of votes… have not yet been counted at all, not once.” [US News and World Report, 12/13/2000]