It's Official: Bush Is Next President

President-elect George Bush thanked the American people Wednesday night "for the great privilege of being able to serve as your next president."

Bush focused on bipartisanship as he addressed the nation from the Texas House of Representatives chamber in a nationally broadcast speech.

The president-elect said that he was "not elected to serve one party, but to serve one nation."

Bush said that it is time to "put politics behind us and work together" on issues including education, Social Security, Medicare, and tax relief.

The president-elect said that he hopes the long wait over the election results "will heighten a desire to move beyond the bitterness and partisanship of the recent past."

He went on to say that he understands how difficult a time this must be for Al Gore, who he said made a "gracious call" to concede the presidency.

Bush spokeswoman Karen Hughes said that the Texas governor thanked Gore for the call and that he looked forward to seeking Gore next Tuesday.

Bush closed the conversation by saying he looked forward to working with Gore to heal the country.

Gore said earlier Wednesday night in his concession speech that he "strongly disagrees" with the Supreme Court's decision not to allow manual recounts in Florida to continue. But he also said that he accepts the finality of the outcome.

Gore said that he offered his concession "for the sake of the nation's unity." He said, "Partisan rancor must now be put aside."

Of president-elect Bush, Gore said, "May God bless his stewardship of this country."

Gore thanked the hundreds who helped his campaign in Florida. But he also said that he urges "all who stood with us, to unite behind our next president."

He said that his one regret is he didn't get the chance to fight for the American people the next four years.

As for his future plans, he doesn't "know the answer to that one yet."

Gore ended his concession speech with a play on a phrase he used throughout the campaign in talking about the Republicans. "It's time for me to go."

After finishing the speech, Gore left the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, greeted by cheers from a crowd of supporters waiting for him outside.

Bush Gets Keys To White House

Shortly after Gore's concession speech, the General Services Administration authorized Bush to receive more than $5 million for transition expenses, as well as office space for the transition team.

Bush's running mate, Dick Cheney, will receive the keys during a formal ceremony Thursday afternoon. The Virginia office is just minutes from Cheney's home.

The GSA had held off awarding both the money and the office since the election. The law requires the money to be released only when the winner is "apparent."

The transition team has already accumulated 21,0000 resumes from people seeking some 6,000 administration jobs.

The Historic Election

Gore topped his GOP rival by more than 300,000 votes out of 103 million ballots cast nationwide. But Florida's 25 electoral votes, to be cast Dec. 18 and counted Jan. 6, would give Bush a total of 271 -- one more than the 270 required to win the presidency, and four more than Gore.

And thus closed an election for the history books, the closest in 124 years. On Inauguration Day Jan. 20, the Texas governor will become:

• The first presidential candidate since Benjamin Harrison in 1888 -- and only the fourth in American history -- to lose the national popular vote but win the state electoral contest, thus the White House. Harrison's foe, Grover Cleveland, rebounded to win the presidency in 1893, offering a glimmer of hope for Gore who, at 52, may want to make another run at the White House.
• The nation's second father-son presidential team after John Adams (1791-1801) and John Quincy Adams (1825-1829). Bush has relied on his well-to-do family's connections, both to raise money and build the foundation of a new administration. Andrew Card, Colin Powell, Condoleezza Rice and GOP running mate Dick Cheney held top positions in the first Bush presidency and are slated for senior roles in the second.

Cheney visited conservative Republicans on Capitol Hill, telling reporters afterward, "We're moving forward on the transition."

Bush may soon join Cheney in the nation's capital; aides said that a trip to Washington later this week, perhaps on Friday, was being considered, including a courtesy call on President Clinton, congressional Democrats and hopefully a meeting with Gore.

Bush has said that he hopes to "seize the moment" if the courts ruled in his favor. "Part of seizing the moment is reaching out to the other party, to show his bipartisanship," said Bush spokesman Ari Fleischer.

Advisers said that Democrats are under consideration for Cabinet posts, including Sen. John Breaux, D-La.

Also mentioned in GOP circles: Rep. Charles Stenholm, D-Texas, former Sens. J. Bennett Johnston, D-La., and Sam Nunn, D-Ga., and former Dallas Democratic Party chairman Sandy Kress.

Bush's schedule is in flux, but aides said that a presidential-style news conference was likely this week. They debated whether to roll out White House staff and Cabinet appointments or delay the activity while Bush builds an image as a uniter.

With the Senate evenly split, the House nearly so and Florida falling to Bush by a near-invisible 537 votes, it was fitting that the U.S. Supreme Court voted 5-4 against recounts in the state -- a decision they nine justices knew was tantamount to awarding Bush the White House.

Partisan Politics

Democrats laid down their political markers for 2002, when Congress will be up for grabs, suggesting that wounds inflicted in the recount war will still be grist for the next campaign.

Sen. Patrick Leahy, ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said that the "majority has dealt the court a serious blow by taking actions many Americans will consider to be political rather than judicial."

The party's core constituencies, particularly minorities, seemed the most stung by Gore's defeat. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., D-Ill., called the high court "a willing tool of the Bush campaign" that orchestrated "a velvet legal coup."

Rep. Charles Rangel, a senior black lawmaker, said, "I am shocked by the partisanship that has bubbled up to the lofty halls of the Supreme Court."

A number of other Democrats urged Gore to bow out graciously. "His statement should be clear and unequivocal that, according to the highest court in the land, George W. Bush is going to be the next president," Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said.

After eight years of Democratic control in the White House, Republicans promised compromise and consensus. "The long trail that has kept the nation in suspense since November 7th is now over," said House Speaker Dennis Hastert. "Now, as a nation, we must come together."