PressEthic

A cursory glance at the Senate race between Jim Webb and George Allen echoed Florida 2000, as Virginia – a longtime bastion of Republicanism – was swept under in the wave of Democratic advances during the midterm elections.

"Virginia Democratic Senate candidate James Webb claimed the title of 'Senator-elect,'" wrote Washington Post Reporters Lisa Rein and Michael D. Shear, "today even as Republican incumbent Sen. George Allen declined to concede a race he was losing by 7,146 votes."

Ironically, this is same tactic employed by the Bush team following the razor-thin tally in Florida: claim the seat before your opponent. More importantly, even when you aren’t officially declared the winner, start acting like one, establishing an aura of legitimacy.

And taking a playbook from Bush 2000: "Webb advisers said he will announce members of his transition team later this afternoon. Webb leads Allen by less than three tenths of a percent out of 2.3 million votes that were cast Tuesday.

"'There's never been a Senate election where a candidate with the margin of this size, or for that matter even smaller . . . has not emerged as the next Senator,' said former Gov. Mark R. Warner (D), who is advising Webb," wrote Rein and Shear.

With a race as close 7,000 votes, it is not hard to find errors that support the candidate who is trailing. When Democrats cried voter fraud in 2000 – a margin much smaller – Republicans countered that the Dems were sore losers and obstructing the country from returning to normalcy.

Ed Gillespie, the former chairman of the Republican National Committee, is in Richmond to monitor the vote-certification process and advise the Allen campaign. 'The conclusion of the canvass will be the official result,' he said at a news briefing today. He said he believed a count of provisional ballots and a review of the state’s voting machines would turn up additional votes for Mr. Allen.

He accused Democrats of using lawyers to try to affect the outcome, wrote John Broder and Ian Urbina in The New York Times.

But while one side is contesting the election, the projected winner’s team must posture in the other direction, as Gillespie plays the role of Warren Christopher, while Warner takes on the part of James Baker from Florida 2000.

'The bottom line is the votes have been counted and Jim Webb has won,' said Kristian Denny Todd, a Webb aide. 'It could have gone the other way, but it didn’t. We’re on top and that’s the way it’s going to stay.'

She said that 'Senator-elect Webb' is consulting with advisers and planning to take his seat in the Senate in January," wrote Broder and Urbina.

Aside from the hilarity of the juxtaposed roles of Democrats and Republicans, the lesson in Virginia shows how the sore loser in contemporary American politics is anyone of any party who loses a close election, while the projected winner, until official, tries to discredit the projected loser.

The Times reported that 2.3 million votes were cast, but the deciding factor was around 7,000, "less than one-half of 1 percent." In the end, any race that is decided by the minuscule amount that separates Virginia reeks of illegitimacy and illuminates a polarized state.

What does the media do in this environment? Do they go along with Webb or stand as an impartial observer? If they stay impartial, when do they concede the race to Webb, as a recount could take up to a month?