At Any Cost: How Al Gore Tried to Steal the Election (Hardcover)

by Bill Sammon (Author) "It was 5:15 A.M. by the time I finally left the Washington Times newsroom on November 8, 2000..." (more)
Key Phrases: Palm Beach, Florida Supreme Court, United States (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Washington Times reporter Bill Sammon makes it clear in the opening pages of At Any Cost that he's not a big fan of Al Gore. In this fast-paced account of what happened to Florida's controversial vote, he explains how a defeated Gore desperately fought to turn things around. He starts by suggesting that tens of thousands of voters in the Florida Panhandle--Republican country--decided not to cast ballots when the media wrongly called the state for Gore early in the evening on Election Day, before all the polls had closed in the western part of the state. Without this blunder--which hasn't received nearly the attention heaped on the media for prematurely calling the election for George W. Bush several hours later--Sammon believes Gore would have given up his post-election campaign much sooner. Sammon also believes this had repercussions outside Florida: "If not for the networks' early and erroneous projections, Bush might have easily won the popular vote, and carried a few congressional seats with him."

The bulk of the book zeros in on Gore and his goal of "seizing the presidency." In one nifty bit of reporting, Sammon tracks down a navy lieutenant whose military ballot Gore's lawyers were determined to throw out. Sammon describes the unseemly spectacle of their success:

When the [Duval County] canvassing board announced that the ballots of 149 soldiers, sailors, and airmen had been disqualified, a pair of jubilant Gore lawyers exchanged high-fives. A Republican, visibly shaken by this sight, demanded to know how they could celebrate the disenfranchisement of U.S. military members risking their lives around the world. One of the Gore lawyers glibly replied, "A win's a win."

Sammon also covers all that business about the chads, Gore's "smear campaign" against Secretary of State Katherine Harris, and the Supreme Court's controversial Bush v. Gore ruling. This is by no means the definitive story of what happened in Florida, but it's a useful piece of journalism--and one that Bush's supporters will read with that heady mixture of outrage and excitement that politics uniquely provides. --John J. Miller

Product Description
The only book on the Florida election debacle to make the New York Times bestseller list.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Regnery Publishing, Inc.; First Printing edition (May 25, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0895262274
• ISBN-13: 978-0895262271
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (347 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #777,867 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

117 of 124 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A perfect case of democratic misbehavior, February 18, 2003

By	Pete Sabatino (Orange City, Fl) - See all my reviews

This review is from: At Any Cost: How Al Gore Tried to Steal the Election (Paperback)

I agree with the reviewer from Melbourne and know many people who where going to vote for Bush but didn't only because of the fiasco in the media announcing Al Gore as the winner and that polls were closed.And how about all of the Military votes, many which would have gone to Bush whch were thrown out!A perfect example of Democratic Misbehavior.

86 of 92 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pennsylvanians didn't vote for Gore either, March 25, 2003

By	Cableman (Pottstown, Pa.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: At Any Cost: How Al Gore Tried to Steal the Election (Paperback)

I am not surprised to hear than not one southern state voted for Gore or that most states voted for Bush.As a Pennsylvanian, I and many from the Keystone state, particularly those who are anti-abortion voted for Bush as well.Gore acted like a selfish thief during the election and like a crybaby afterwards.And this man wanted to be our leader? No thanks!

142 of 157 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Al Gore Tried, but failed--the right man won, January 11, 2003

By	Cheryl Francisco (Clermont, Fl) - See all my reviews

This book shows just how dirty the democrats were during that lastelection; how they tried every cheap and dirty trick possible; preannouncing a bogus winner; irresponsibly and deceptivefully lying,but even afterall that, the right man came out on top.

It's not surprising to see that Al Gore has dropped out of the election for 2004. If he couldn't win after all the cheating i 2000, what chance would he have now?

The dispictable actions of the democrats in Minnesota last fall further ppproves that democrats are not ready for leadership now or anytime in the immediate future.