Good morning.
Thursday in town will be breezy and mild, with a high of forty-eight, and mostly sunny skies.
On this day in 2000, Al Gore concedes the presidency to George W. Bush:
In a televised speech from his ceremonial office next to the White House, Gore said that while he was deeply disappointed and sharply disagreed with the Supreme Court verdict that ended his campaign, ”partisan rancor must now be put aside.”
“I accept the finality of the outcome, which will be ratified next Monday in the Electoral College” he said. “And tonight, for the sake of our unity as a people and the strength of our democracy, I offer my concession.”
Gore had won the national popular vote by more than 500,000 votes, but narrowly lost Florida, giving the Electoral College to Bush 271 to 266.
Gore said he had telephoned Bush to offer his congratulations, honoring him, for the first time, with the title ”president-elect.”
”I promised that I wouldn’t call him back this time” Gore said, referring to the moment on election night when he had called Bush to tell him he was going to concede, then called back a half hour later to retract that concession.
Here’s a happy video to start the day, of a very happy (and squeaky clean) pup: (video now restored)
Google-a-Day asks a question of zoology: “Contrary to popular belief, a 2010 study showed what animal sleeps only about 10 hours, as opposed to the 18-20 previously thought to be the case?”