Bush v. Gore: Bonus - Information Wars

Summary

Fiasco Podcast Summary: "Bush v. Gore: Bonus - Information Wars"

Release Date: December 2, 2024

Introduction

In this compelling bonus episode of Pushkin Industries' Fiasco, host Leon Nayfakh delves deep into the tumultuous events surrounding the 2000 U.S. presidential election between Al Gore and George W. Bush. Titled "Bush v. Gore: Bonus - Information Wars," the episode provides an insider's perspective on the Florida recount, the pivotal role of the Florida Supreme Court, and the intense media scrutiny that ensued. Through an in-depth conversation with Craig Waters, the former Public Information Officer of the Florida Supreme Court, listeners gain a nuanced understanding of the intricate dance between the judiciary, media, and political pressures during one of the most contested elections in American history.

Setting the Stage: The 2000 Election and Florida's Central Role

The 2000 U.S. presidential election was one of the closest and most controversial in the nation's history. The outcome hinged on the results in Florida, where vote discrepancies and recount disputes led to a prolonged legal battle. The Florida Supreme Court became the epicenter of this political maelstrom, making decisions that would ultimately determine the presidency.

Craig Waters: A Frontline Perspective

Leon Nayfakh introduces Craig Waters, who served as the Public Information Officer for the Florida Supreme Court during the 2000 recount. Waters provides a firsthand account of the chaotic environment and the immense pressure faced by the court.

Craig Waters [05:03]: "The circuit court shall order a manual recount of all undervotes in any Florida county where such a recount has not yet occurred. Because time is of the essence, the recount shall commence immediately."

The Florida Supreme Court's Critical Decisions

Waters outlines the sequence of pivotal rulings by the Florida Supreme Court:

1. Certificate Deadline Delay: The court halted Secretary of State Kathryn Harris from certifying the election results at the usual deadline.
2. Recount Extension: It mandated that Harris wait until at least November 26th to allow counties to complete their recounts.
3. Statewide Manual Recount Order: On December 8th, the court ordered a comprehensive manual recount statewide.

These decisions were met with fierce criticism, particularly from conservative pundits and the Bush campaign, who accused the court of partisan bias.

Media Scrutiny and Public Perception

As the Florida Supreme Court's actions extended the election process, media outlets intensified their coverage, often portraying the court as biased against Bush. Waters recounts the challenges of managing information amidst a frenzy of reporters and public interest.

Craig Waters [15:01]: "From my perspective, after the issuance of that particular opinion on November 21, that was when the spin began to try to portray the Florida Supreme Court as being biased toward the Democratic side."

The influx of media attention transformed Waters from a behind-the-scenes official to a public figure, forced to navigate hostile interviews and manage a barrage of public and media inquiries.

Navigating the Information War

Waters describes the strategic measures taken to communicate court decisions effectively:

• Initially, Waters casually conversed with reporters, leveraging his existing relationships in Tallahassee.
• As crowds grew and tension escalated, formal channels were established. This included setting up a podium for official announcements and coordinating with various law enforcement agencies to manage the surging public.
• To ensure clarity and fairness, Waters coordinated with major TV networks to provide concise, procedural summaries of court decisions, minimizing misinterpretations and speculative spin.

Craig Waters [10:08]: "It was very surreal to see the process... everything had to become more formal. The crowds were larger, the security presence grew... I had to start trying to figure out how to get that information across myself."

Personal Challenges and Public Scrutiny

The episode delves into the personal toll of Waters' role during this period. He recounts receiving thousands of emails, many of which were personal attacks or threats, leading him to eventually cease monitoring his public email accounts and phones.

Craig Waters [17:25]: "They started getting tens of thousands of emails... some of them really were personal attacks. We handed some of it over to law enforcement because of the threatening nature."

Despite his efforts to maintain professionalism, Waters found himself grappling with the unexpected spotlight and the emotional strain of constant public scrutiny.

Decisive Moments: The December 8th Announcements

A particularly tense moment arose when Waters was offered a bulletproof vest before making the December 8th announcement. Drawing from his knowledge of public relations, he opted against wearing it to avoid projecting fear and mistrust.

Craig Waters [21:14]: "It would have projected closure, fear, mistrust."

This decision underscored Waters' commitment to maintaining an image of openness and calm, even amidst escalating tensions and security concerns.

Interplay with the U.S. Supreme Court

The Florida Supreme Court's handling of the recount and the subsequent media portrayal influenced perceptions at the federal level. Waters suggests that the U.S. Supreme Court may have been affected by the surrounding spin, contributing to their decision to issue a stay and ultimately resolve the election outcome.

Craig Waters [23:51]: "I really feel like that impression succeeded to some extent and that that did have some influence on the role the U.S. Supreme Court later took."

Conclusion: Lessons from the Information Wars

Through Waters' experiences, the episode highlights the profound impact of media narratives on judicial processes and public perception. It underscores the delicate balance between transparency, effective communication, and resilience in the face of partisan pressures.

Notable Quotes

• Craig Waters [05:03]: "The circuit court shall order a manual recount of all undervotes in any Florida county where such a recount has not yet occurred. Because time is of the essence, the recount shall commence immediately."

• Craig Waters [10:08]: "It was very surreal to see the process... everything had to become more formal. The crowds were larger, the security presence grew... I had to start trying to figure out how to get that information across myself."

• Craig Waters [17:25]: "They started getting tens of thousands of emails... some of them really were personal attacks. We handed some of it over to law enforcement because of the threatening nature."

• Craig Waters [21:14]: "It would have projected closure, fear, mistrust."

• Craig Waters [23:51]: "I really feel like that impression succeeded to some extent and that that did have some influence on the role the U.S. Supreme Court later took."

Final Thoughts

"Bush v. Gore: Bonus - Information Wars" offers a rare glimpse into the behind-the-scenes maneuvers of the Florida Supreme Court during a historic electoral dispute. Through Craig Waters' testimony, listeners gain an appreciation for the complexities of judicial communication, the pressures of media influence, and the enduring lessons on maintaining institutional integrity amidst chaos.

Transcript

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[Craig Waters]

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[Craig Waters]

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[Leon Nayfak]

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[Craig Waters]

For third party apps. Restrictions apply. When they had offered me the bulletproof vest, I, I think. I think that scared me more than anything else. Did you know this idea? I have to wear a bulletproof vest? My God, what's going on here? That's not the Tallahassee I know.

[Leon Nayfak]

Hey, Fiasco listeners, it's Leon Nayfak. This is the third in a series of bonus episodes featuring standout interviews from our season, Bush v. Gore. We're sharing these extras for anyone who wants to go deeper into the story of the 2000 election and to hear more from the central players we spoke to over the course of our reporting process. We spent a lot of time this season talking to people who live and breathe politics. Strategists, advisors, journalists and lawyers. Lots and lots of lawyers. But some of the people and institutions that got caught up in the Florida recount were not partisan or political at all. In fact, they were supposed to be anything but. Today, I wanted to share a conversation I had with one such person.

[Craig Waters]

One of the funny aspects of being the spokesman for any institution is generally if someone is getting credit for something, it's not me. It's going to be one of my bosses.

[Leon Nayfak]

This is Craig Waters, the former public information officer of the Florida Supreme Court, a role he held during the 2000 recount.

[Craig Waters]

But if things aren't going well, if things are controversial, or if there's trouble, then I'm the one who has to go out and do the talking.

[Leon Nayfak]

In 2000, the Florida Supreme Court became the epicenter of the political universe, and it made decisions that were hugely consequential and controversial. First, the court prevented Secretary of State Kathryn Harris from certifying the results at the usual deadline. Then it ruled that Harris had to wait until at least November 26th to allow counties to finish their recounts. And then, on December 8, the court shocked just about everyone by ordering a statewide manual recount.

[Craig Waters]

The circuit court shall order a manual recount of all undervotes in any Florida county where such a recount has not yet occurred. Because time is of the essence, the recount shall commence immediately.

[Leon Nayfak]

Waters read summaries of each opinion to the press after the court handed them down. And for each decision, conservative pundits and Bush campaign staffers were outraged. They attacked the court as a group of partisan Democratic judges. It was Craig Waters job to defend the institution that he believed in and to keep the public informed. In the process, he became a public figure in his own right. When I talked to Waters about what this was like, we began on the morning after the 2000 election. Waters was staying at a hotel in Orlando, and the next morning he went downstairs to check the news. He realized pretty quickly that the Florida Supreme Court was probably going to be involved.

[Craig Waters]

I went down to the hotel desk and found stacks of the Orlando Sentinel newspaper, all of them with contradictory headlines. One said Gore had won. One said Bush had won. Another one said, too close to call. I couldn't figure out what was going on.

[Advertiser 1]

These were different editions.

[Craig Waters]

These were different editions that had come out at different times during the evening. So I went back, and I didn't want to call the chief justice right then. I knew that there was a problem. But I called the Associated Press here in Tallahassee. They tended to stay on top of things. The Associated Press was the biggest of all the news organizations at that point in time, and they filled me in on what had happened overnight in Florida. So I felt I had the latest information. And then I called the chief justice, who was Charlie Wells at the time, and his first words to me were, get back here as soon as you can.

[Advertiser 1]

Why did he tell you to get back as soon as you could?

[Craig Waters]

Because crowds at that point were already forming between the Florida Supreme Court building and the Capitol. The Florida Supreme Court building is directly across Duval street from the Capitol building, and there's a large terraced plaza area between the two buildings. And there already were news crews setting up. There were cameras all over the place. There were reporters. Some sightseers were starting to gather as well. There was a general sense, I think, in Tallahassee that something was going on that was going to involve the city in a big way.

[Advertiser 1]

So it was clear to you that the Florida Supreme Court would have a role to play in resolving it?

[Craig Waters]

It wasn't clear at that point. It seemed likely. When I sat down with Chief Justice Wells, when I got back, he told me that his hope was that it would remain in federal courts. And there was some basis for that. I mean, federal laws were involved, and.

[Advertiser 1]

The Bush lawyers had filed suit.

[Craig Waters]

The very first lawsuits were filed in the federal court, I think, because everybody assumed it was going to be a federal matter. The problem with that, after you start thinking about it, is that the United States has a peculiar way of dealing with elections. Under the federal system that was established by the founding fathers, the supervision of elections, including national elections, was left to the states themselves and therefore is a matter of state law. The federal courts, when they got these first lawsuits, after they realized, you know, this, that the. The. The issues involved, too many state law issues, began kicking it out and saying, no, you're going to have to go to state court on this because. Because what you're talking about is state law. It's not federal law.

[Advertiser 1]

What was the first occasion you had to get up in front of the courthouse and address reporters?

[Craig Waters]

It started very gradually. One of the things that happened very early on was that our marshal locked our doors, which infuriated me. We've always been an open courthouse, and I did not like anything that looked like we, you know, that we were closing ourselves off. I went to the chief justice, to Charlie Wells at the time, and said, the marshal just locked the doors. Please reverse him immediately. But we did. We did have large crowds that were gathering, and there were problems inside the Capitol building with the crowds already, you know, people getting into public spaces and causing disruptions. And Chief Justice Wells was unwilling to countermand the Marshall. So he told me right then and there, and this was just after the election had happened. He said, well, why don't you just go out and talk to people, go out and talk to the press, talk to whoever. You know, you're our communications director. So I actually started just walking out in front, on the front steps in a very casual way, you know, like, you know, there are people melling and I'D go up and start talking with some of the ones that I knew. I knew a lot of the reporters here in town already, and that's really how it started me having very informal conversations with people outside the building. And as the event progressed, it just became more and more formal and the crowds grew more and more large over time until we reached the point where one day there were so many people and so many microphones. Somebody said, well, let's get a podium so we can put all the microphones on the podium. And then the podium came out and then the podium gradually moved up the steps and. And then all of a sudden there were lights. And then they were, they were putting a microphone on my tie. So it evolved pretty rapidly.

[Advertiser 1]

And so it's not like you always read decisions.

[Craig Waters]

We here at the Florida Supreme Court have actually operated under a rule for a very long time that the opinions of the court speak for themselves. So generally, I do not comment on the opinions. I certainly don't try to interpret what they mean. You find any two attorneys and they'll disagree over what any opinion means, because that's what attorneys do. But one of the problems we faced with Bush v. Gore was that we had huge crowds of reporters. We at the heights of it, we would have two or three hundred reporters standing outside the building waiting for a decision from the court. Trying to be fair to two or three hundred people is very difficult. If you start releasing paper opinions, someone's going to be first in line and someone's going to be last in line. And of course, the people who are last in line are going to be very unhappy with that situation. We didn't have social media at the time. Today I could do the same thing on Twitter, but I didn't have Twitter back then. So what happened when we began to realize what a big controversy Bush v. Gore was going to become? I sat down with the on site assignment editors of all the big TV networks that were here in Tallahassee. And it was not just the American networks. There was also some, some foreign networks as well. And I had a big pow wow. And I said, what could we do that's going to make this fairer? What's going to work best for you? And the consensus that they reached was they needed someone to come out and just read a brief bottom line announcement of what each decision meant when there was a major decision coming out of the court. And they wanted 30 minutes notice so that they would have time to break into programming because this was going to go live worldwide. And they agreed that I did not have to take questions and answers because I think the court would not have agreed to that. The justices would not have liked that.

[Advertiser 1]

What did it feel like delivering that summary as, like a, you know, as a private citizen turned oracle?

[Craig Waters]

Well, it was very surreal to see the process, I mean, because I was really, as I said, I was going out and just talking with, with people casually, like I'm talking to you right now. You had been and had been. And you know, all of a sudden when, when that order came out and there were all these people and all these microphones, all of a sudden that changed. Everything had to become more formal. It had to become a much more predictable process. The crowds were larger, the security presence grew. All of a sudden I had armed police officers around me at all, all times. And you know, it was very strange to go from this role that I had had, which was very much a behind the scenes role, to all of a sudden I'm the guy out front. And it was very strange to watch that, that process happen and, you know, to understand the, in real time, the logic of why it was happening.

[Advertiser 1]

What do you mean?

[Craig Waters]

We were very accustomed to openness here. We were very accustomed to being welcoming to people. We had a, a Southern, y'all come attitude. Tallahassee is a very small town. Everybody knows everybody. Everybody in the press knows everybody. I mean, I know everybody in the press here, and it's been that way for a long time. But all of a sudden we had these, you know, these newcomers coming in from out of town initially at the very beginning phases. If I had a reporter from New York City saying, well, I don't understand how you do these things. I, I could say, well, there's Lucy Morgan from the St. Pete Times. Go talk to her, she'll explain it to you. But once you start getting larger and larger crowds, you can't do that kind of thing anymore. So I had to start trying to figure out how to get that information across myself. And all of a sudden I was having to have meetings with the Capitol Police, Florida Highway Patrol, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, City of Tallahassee Police Department, Leon County Sheriff's Office. All these people were coming in because they had concurrent jurisdiction over the areas where the crowds were forming. And so they had to be brought in and consulted on everything I did. The crowds were later would become enormous.

[Leon Nayfak]

More of my conversation with Craig Waters after the break.

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[Advertiser 1]

I suppose it was when the Florida Supreme Court ruled to extend the certification deadline to the 26th that people, perhaps on the Bush side, started to really see the institution as being against them. And is that when you started getting threats and stuff like that?

[Craig Waters]

From my perspective, after the issuance of that particular opinion on November 21, that was when the spin began to try to portray the Florida Supreme Court as being biased toward the Democratic side. I'm sure that was driven by some sense of fear. You don't launch that kind of elaborate public relations effort without some reason.

[Advertiser 1]

What do they do? Exactly.

[Craig Waters]

That was when I began noticing people going on television and really criticizing the Florida Supreme Court. And it was very interesting here from the perspective at the Florida Supreme Court, because directly across the street, on the terraces of the Capitol building, that was where the press had pitched their tents. Literally, there are all these white tents, and every major news organization had a white tent. My office actually looks out over that area, and I could see all of these very major political figures going from tent to tent to tent to tent doing interviews. Then I could watch what they were saying on television, and they were. They were conducting spin against the Florida Supreme Court. I, of course, I was trying to do media interviews as well, to get as much good information as I could during that particular point in time that I. I was contacted by a television news program that I did not know that much about at the time, if I recall correctly. It was called Hannity and Combs. I actually got into this interview and realized that I. That the. The other person on the other end of the interview was someone I also had never heard of, whose name was Ann Coulter. And she launched into a tirade against the Florida Supreme Court. I was particularly irritated with that because Sean Hannity's people had. Had told me they only wanted me to come and talk about procedural matters, which is really all I'm qualified to talk about. And all of a sudden, there was Ann Coulter trying to debate me about the merits of Florida Supreme Court opinions. So I literally end up. Ended up saying over and over and over again to Sean Hannity that his people had asked me to appear only for procedural issues, and that they had apparently brought me onto this interview under false pretenses. That was probably one of the most vivid examples of the spin that I encountered.

[Advertiser 1]

Was it accompanied by personal attacks on you outside the media?

[Craig Waters]

I managed. There were two public email accounts. They were the email accounts that were listed on most of the web pages of the Florida Supreme Court. So we started getting tens of thousands of emails. I couldn't even go through all the emails. Emails, you know, some of them really were personal attacks. And. And if you read them, you would begin to realize that these people were extremely confused about the process. Many of them thought that I was the one who was personally making the decisions that I was announcing on the steps of the Florida Supreme Court. And then they would, you know, treat me accordingly. And some of it, you know, was very vulgar, and some of it was threatening. We handed some of it over to law enforcement because of the threatening nature. I didn't want to get pulled in that direction at that point in time. I had too many other pots on the stove at that point. And so I actually stopped even opening those email accounts at some point because it just was too much of a distraction.

[Advertiser 1]

And were people calling your cell phone that you had posted online?

[Craig Waters]

Yeah, the cell phone we ended up just turning off, it became useless. I got another cell phone during that period of time and we started using that. And my office phone number also became unusable. I'd also put that on the webpage when I first put that out there. We actually tried for a while to bring in staff to answer my phone because it was ringing constantly. And then we finally just gave up on that and just turned. We unplugged the phone and let it go to voicemail. Of course, the voicemail quickly filled up.

[Advertiser 1]

That must have been such a novel experience. I mean, I know this happens all the time now to people who are in the middle of the news, but to just be on the receiving end of such easy. The barrier to entry on that communication for the people who are contacting you were so low. It had been higher, like even quite recently in history.

[Craig Waters]

It was certainly my first encounter with this sort of 24 hour news phenomenon that can take someone who's unknown and turn them into a household name overnight.

[Advertiser 1]

Is that what happened to you?

[Craig Waters]

It is very much. It was amazing to watch and. And it wasn't something that I liked. Even for a period of about six months after it was over, people would stop and point and stare at me in airports.

[Advertiser 1]

Did you feel compelled to undermine the perception that the Florida Supreme Court was biased towards Gore in your self presentation, especially when you were actually giving those. Reading those orders and reading those decisions.

[Craig Waters]

The worst episode of that, where the optics played a major role in a decision I made was right before I went out to make the December 8 announcement about the statewide recount. Enormous crowds had formed outside and they were quite boisterous. The police were very concerned. I was inside the rotunda, the building this. The building was closed, of course, and there was no one in the rotunda area except me and the. And the. In law enforcement. And I was there with my prepared statement and was getting ready. And one of the law enforcement officers came up and said, we have a bulletproof vest for you and we would really like you to wear this because, you know, we're concerned. And the thing that flashed into my head was something I remembered I've always been something of a student of public relations. And I remember back when Hillary Clinton was working for her husband, who was president at the time, on his healthcare initiative, which had become very controversial. And she was going to an airport and she was. Television cameras were following her and there was an image of her walking through this airport wearing a bulletproof vest. And she looked scared and, and mistrustful and afraid. That was the image that popped into my mind and that was the image that I did not want to project. And thinking of the optics, I decided not to wear the bulletproof vest. I just thought that was completely the wrong image to project at that particular point in time.

[Advertiser 1]

What would it have projected?

[Craig Waters]

It would have projected closure, fear, mistrust.

[Advertiser 1]

Was the reason that they proposed the bulletproof vest, that they understood that the substance of a decision would be so provocative.

[Craig Waters]

The problem wasn't really, I think, so much the nature of the decision because the whole thing had been controversial. The problem was that the crowds were so large. The streets were absolutely jam packed. The, the area between here and the Capitol was full of people. They didn't tell me at the time, but they're. Thank God they didn't tell me. They were actually police snipers on the roofs of nearby buildings. While I was out there for my minute and 45 seconds making the announcement, someone later showed me photographs that were taken from the. Of the capitol, which is 22 stories, and you can clearly see a police sniper laying on his stomach on the roof of City hall, just a block away from where I was making the announcement.

[Advertiser 1]

Is that because they were getting threats?

[Craig Waters]

There were threats coming into all different places. The email threats that I've already told you about, threats to different offices. I know Katherine Harris was getting some serious threats. So the general atmosphere among those of us who were the public figures in Mass, you know, was. We understood that there were crazy people who had become obsessed with this particular event.

[Advertiser 1]

You stipulated that you didn't want to project fear or mistrust. Did you? But did you feel it? Did you feel fear?

[Craig Waters]

It was a frightening thing in a lot of ways, going out onto the steps, particularly that evening on December 8th when they had offered me the bulletproof vest. I think that scared me more than anything else. Did this idea, I have to wear a bulletproof vest. My God, what's going on here? That's not the Tallahassee I know. And there was a moment I got out onto the, you know, to the podium and I began reading. I had these lights shining in my face. So I couldn't see the crowds very well because, you know, I was blinded and there was a large piece of metallic equipment nearby that fell over. And the thought that went through my head at that particular point in time is, oh, my God, there's the. There's the bullet. You know. But I just. At that point, I just kept reading and kept thinking of, well, if I can get through this, it's a minute and 45 seconds, then I'm okay. It was frightening in a lot of ways, but it was something that I also knew that needed to be done and had to be done.

[Advertiser 1]

I know that you are not, in fact, the embodiment of the Florida Supreme Court. And I know that you don't identify with it necessarily as if its views and its rulings are yours. But to the extent that you do work here, to the extent that you are the voice of it, did you have any feelings in response to the US Supreme Court issuing a stay and ending the thing that the Florida Supreme Court had ordered to begin?

[Craig Waters]

When the U.S. supreme Court issued its stay and the arguments that followed, I really got the impression that the US Supreme Court had been listening to the press too much and to the spin machine in particular. I knew because of the 13 years I'd worked here that what the Florida Supreme Court was trying to do was apply precedent that was more than a century old about how you count disputed votes in Florida that got lost when the spin machine took over. And instead, the spin machine was portraying the Florida Supreme Court as this out of control, runaway body that was trying to throw the election. And I knew that was not true. And I really feel like that that impression succeeded to some extent and that it did have some influence on the role the U.S. supreme Court later took. Because I think the U.S. supreme Court, to a degree, came to believe that the Florida Supreme Court was out of control.

[Advertiser 1]

There was even a specific thing I remember reading somewhere that, like, I think it was Rehnquist. Rehnquist had a problem with you being.

[Craig Waters]

Yes, he did.

[Advertiser 1]

That's been quite personal, or maybe not personal, but.

[Craig Waters]

Well, David Kaplan, in his book the Accidental President, actually wrote about it. Rehnquist apparently did think it was. It was an improper thing for a court to have someone go out and make announcements about what was happening. I don't think that that was the correct view. It certainly is not the view that has been endorsed by history. Every court in the nation, with the possible exception still of the U.S. supreme Court, does what the Florida Supreme Court was pioneering back then. And, you know, the scenes at the US Supreme Court where they were handing out paper copies and you had reporters crawling over each other trying to get copies and then running back to television cameras flipping through pages trying to find that one key sentence. It was chaos. It created a horrible impression here at the Florida Supreme Court. We avoided that by having me go out on the steps and read a simple statement that was usually no more than two minutes.

[Leon Nayfak]

Thanks for listening to this special episode of Fiasco Fiasco Bush v. Gore is produced by Prologue Projects and distributed by Pushkin Industries. The show is produced by Madeline Kaplan, Ula Culpa, Andrew Parsons and me, Leon Nayfak. We had additional editorial support from Lisa Chase and Daniel Riley. Thanks for listening. We'll see you next week.

[Craig Waters]

Foreign.

[Advertiser 2]

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[Leon Nayfak]

Listen to mind the Business Small Business Success Stories on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Advertiser 2]

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[Advertiser 1]

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