Latest Florida count shows Bush up by 300

Will Gore and Bush call a truce?
While the battle for the White House rages on in Florida courts, representatives of George W. Bush and Al Gore are playing "Let's make a deal." According to the Los Angeles Times, both sides are considering an agreement to call for a statewide manual recount for the entire state of Florida, and then to abide by the results without any further legal action. The Bush campaign would end its threats to request recounts in other close states like Oregon and Wisconsin, and the Gore team would cease support for lawsuits attacking the "butterfly ballot" in Palm Beach County. "In the end, it may be the only way that everyone can decide on to get a conclusion," said one senior Gore advisor. "It's clearly something that, from a political point of view, it would be hard for us to say, 'No, no, we don't want that.'"

But the issue is a little more complicated for Bush. His camp is reportedly split over the agreement, because consenting to abide by the results of a hand count would contradict its earlier position that the machine count is more reliable. Another wild card is that Gore doesn't necessarily control the lawsuits currently challenging aspects of the Florida vote, and his decision to withdraw from those actions might not resolve them.

The way out
Outside of courts and complicated compromises, there are other ways to resolve the election, USA Today suggests. The first option would be for Gore or Bush to gracefully bow out of the process on Saturday, after all the overseas ballots are in, giving up further chances at lawsuits. The gentleman candidate would concede for the good of the nation. Option No. 2 would be for the Electoral College to ignore the squabbling in Florida and proceed with picking the president -- without the 25 representatives from the Sunshine State. At this point, that would likely result in a win by Gore, because of his 255-to-246 electoral vote lead. But it could also just move the recount battle west into Wisconsin, Oregon and New Mexico. Option No. 3 would rely on renegade electors to vote their consciences, perhaps setting aside the popular vote totals in their states. Option No. 4 would have Congress vote on the president in January, and option No. 5 would let Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert step into the office, in line with constitutional rules about presidential succession.

By the numbers

388 -- Number of votes that put Bush ahead in Florida (CNN)

500 -- Number of Gore votes added in New Mexico after the discovery of a mathematical error, enough to swing the state to the vice president (Reuters)

53,125 -- Number of votes that would need to be hand counted each hour of the workday for Palm Beach County to meet the 5 p.m. Tuesday deadline (based on Associated Press data)

Poll results
According to an ABC News/Washington Post poll, 67 percent of Americans want the election battle stopped after a full Florida recount, with no further lawsuits or recounts in other states.

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