This is for everyone's personal edification. Al Gore lost because he couldn't even win his home state. If he'd just managed to impress 30% of the New Hampshireans who voted for Nader, he would have won. Keep that in mind, whiney-baby Nader-haters. For the record, I've never voted for anyone, and I hate wearing my seatbelt. And, even though seat belt laws are not specifically Ralph Nader's fault, I hold him responsible for having the seat belts, themselves, placed in vehicles. So, essentially, I should despise Ralph. Also, read this to educate yourself about voter turnout in 2000. It appears that about 67% of registered voters actually showed up to vote, and only about 50% of the voting age population is even registered to vote. So, for those who need help with remedial multiplication of percentages, that means that only 33.5% of the people in this country who could vote actually did. (Technically speaking, the percentages will be a little different since a small part of the voting age population is not eligible to vote. Dollars to donuts says that the end result is within +-2 percent.)

Now, to make this even more insane and to stretch those little butter brains thin, let's now apply the yimmer yammering about political bases and vacillating voters. We'll use the John Q. Wilson model to be conservative. Mainly, eighty percent, of that 33.5% who voted, are evenly split between the Republican and Democrat party. This leaves the fabled 20% to decide an election. That's twenty percent of thirty three point five percent. Do I need to calculate that for you? I think I do. Six point seven percent of the voting age population decided the 2000 election if you buy the jibber jabber about political bases. How many people is that? 13,789,605.. Somewhere under 14 million people decided "that election three years ago." I blame it on seat belts.

Oh, I made some of this stuff up.

[To clarify, it actually shows on the link I gave that 51% of the VAP showed up to vote, not 33.5%. Seventy-six percent of the VAP was registered in 2000 and 67.5% of that 76% showed up to vote. (.675 x .76) = .513 ~ 51% Are we clear, now?]