A Mexican Standoff?
"There's room to blame everyone in this mess. But here, as in the campaign, to try too hard to be evenhanded is to distort the truth. Al Gore's people may have made some rash statements, but at the urging of other Democrats and the massed voices of the punditocracy they have avoided committing themselves to the position that only a Gore victory could be legitimate. Where are the voices of caution on the other side?

George W. Bush's people don't seem to have hesitated, even for a moment, about raising the stakes in this dispute. And conservative pundits are already railing about "larceny" and "coup d'état." This is a risky game. What if court decisions actually do lead, through due process, to a Gore presidency? And conversely, how well can our nation be governed if Mr. Bush is declared president only because partisan officials use their discretion to tilt the process in his favor?"