By Adan Makina

Editor’s Note: Looking forward into the future of the United States and the world over has been a driving factor in the political dispensation of author Adan Makina, who, in his pursuit of political philosophy, shared with us a previous article with the title “America Needs Madam President.” And now, with America engulfed in a political scenario that appears worth deliberating–an election between a second-time Republican Party presidential contestant Donald Trump and the first American female candidate for the presidency of the U.S.–a determined political doyen who is none other than the current Democratic Party Vice-President Kamala Harris who is determined to tilt the scale of balance, a glimpse into what transpired in the 2000 presidential election between George W. Bush and Al Gore is worth deliberating. Jotted down in 2000, Mr. Makina, without an iota of doubt and delay, shares with us a plethora of chameleonic media coverages of the past that deserve further contemplation.  With fifteen days left to the U.S. presidential election that is slated for September 4, 2024, and with little to dust, what appears to be a glimmering research paper of scholarly repute is being shared here with you after almost after fifteen years lapse.
______________

The 2000 U.S. presidential election left an indelible mark in Americans’ perception of the media, its broad coverage of politics and political demographics, and its role in setting the stage for political divisions during hotly contested elections such as happened in Florida when former president George W. Bush and former Vice President Al Gore locked horns in one of the most fiercely fought election disputes in American political history. The role of the media during elections has long been a topic of debate among scholars interested in deciphering news and information related to how the media shapes elections and its impact on the general population.

The media played a great role in the 2000 presidential election by making up-to-the-minute broadcasts that allowed viewers to keep in touch with their favorite candidates as well as details of the election results. This article tracks the role played by the media in the 2000 contentious presidential election between George W. Bush of the Republican Party and former Vice President Al Gore of the Democratic Party. George W. Bush, a former Texas governor competed against Al Gore in an election dispute that attracted international media attention.

In the United States, many regard the media as a powerful arm of government because, according to popular opinion, it that has the power to shape public policy and put together agendas regardless of whether that policy has social, political, or economic implications. Despite the might of the media and the rightful place it enjoys in society and in governance, there are those who view the media from a different perspective. Understanding the role of the media in the 2000 election will be the focus of this article. Like any other business, owners of media houses are driven by the urge to make money and influence politics. The central question that drives this essay is: What role did the media play in its reporting of the 2000 U.S. presidential election? 
Keywords: media; public administration; political parties; political mobilization; political participation

Media 

The media is a form of communication that collects news and information from various sources then disseminates it to the public. After the media relays news and information in broadcast, digital or electronic, and print form, society becomes aware of the daily occurrences that affect their living conditions politically, socially, and economically. Through print, broadcast or electronic media, people can read, listen or watch unfolding events of profound interest. Newspapers, magazines, and journals are examples of print media while television, the internet, films, and other modern innovations like the iPad, iPhones, and Kindle and cell phones that are generated electronically fall under the electronic or digital media category. There are other media appliances like DVDs, Blue Ray that allow us to listen to burned music, Walkman that makes it easier for us to communicate at short distances, and the car satellite radio that transmits voice in the form of news and entertainment at the convenience of our car seats and our homes (Jenkins, 2004).

Usually, mass media targets the general population, while local media aims at locals. American media has undergone tremendous transformation since the last century. It has also accumulated enormous powers that allow it to penetrate public and private lives. Some of the largest media conglomerations in the world have their bases in U.S. soil with similar news outlets in many parts of the world. With the diminished role of print media, television coverage and internet connectivity, the two most powerful media forces of the modern century, seem to be gaining ground. However, internet use among the youth has been skyrocketing in recent years due to technological advancement, globalization, and human interaction.

Election Contests

The 2000 election between George W. Bush and Al Gore has been described as the closest contests between two candidates and the first of its kind to see Supreme Court intervention (Hill & McKee, 2005). According to Gibson, Caldeira, and Spence (2003), there have been a lot of exaggerations and unnecessary condemnations from scholars, pundits, and politicians regarding the legitimacy of George W. Bush’s proclamation of the presidency in an election that still begs for further scrutiny and scholarly research. Contesting elections, whether in a democracy or in an oligarchy, presidential or statewide, is not a new phenomenon.

An important aspect of the 2000 election was not about winning the presidency as Nicholson and Hoffmann (2001) construe, but about shaping the future of the Supreme Court whose significance rested on interpreting the constitution of the nation for the next 30 to 40 years. If an election has been as bad as that of Bush and Al Gore, reference could be made to the 1876 presidential election between Tilden and Hayes.

It was after Congress appointed an Electoral Commission that Hayes received the upper hand after a split along partisan lines (Newcomb, 1905). Even in such far places as the Palestinian territories, Hamas, a popular religious group that has been on U.S. radar for a long time and viewed by American government officials as a consortium of religious zealots craving for Israeli extermination, proclaimed victory against contestants that were regarded as moderate and West-friendly in 2006 leaving the U.S. and its allies in a state of disillusionment and apprehension (Ajami, 2012).

Also worth mentioning is the election of the fourteenth President of the United States, J.F. Kennedy, who ran against Richard Nixon in 1960. It was not until the Associated Press, in favor of the Democratic candidate, reported a staggering 318, 308 of the Alabama votes cast while the highly regarded Congressional Quarterly gave Kennedy five-elevenths of 324, 050 of the Alabama votes cast (Morley, 1961). As claimed by Morley (1961), despite Kennedy’s win in the 1960 election, the American Good Government Society, in its November 23, 1960 analysis, gave Nixon 282 votes against 250 votes for Kennedy.

Elections and Representative Democracy

There is plenty of literature explaining how the media impacts elections, public policy, and the youth (Baum & Potter, 2008; Brown & Cantor, 2000; Wanta, Golan, & Lee; 2004). Undoubtedly, American media is not objective as many would expect it to be. At times, it is unfair and lopsided, discordant at other times, politically leaning, and generally having many faces. Under universal suffrage, elections, according to Hudson (2009), influence the conduct of government while giving each and every citizen the right to one vote. With the typologies of democracies, the world over, the American system of governance is one that allows people to elect their leaders in a competitive environment. Representative democracy, the model chosen by the founders of the American nation, provides a lot of freedom as enshrined in the nation’s constitution.

Representative democracy, despite its popularity in the U.S. structural democracy, still shows signs of imbalanced inefficiency in representation. According to Besley and Coate (1998), there are some sources of inefficiencies shrouded in representative democracy.

Despite political representative displaying the hallmarks of political equilibrium, inefficiencies may exist in the socio-economic criteria where there may be disparities emanating from unequal distribution of resources on a national scale. Altering citizen productivity could result in diminished productivity and inefficient investments (Besley & Coate, 1998). O’Donnell (1994) argues that all forms of democracy that work contrary to popular representation fall under the category of delegative democracy which is a form of democracy where democratic institutions have not been institutionalized. Delegative democracy, according to O’Donnell (1994), is enduring, free from degenerating into authoritarianism, and contains little traces of representative democracy.

Delegative democracy may still have traces of inherited economic disintegration. Assar & Weinbull (1993) relate that party identification is the major dynamic or foundation that determines voter behavior. Voter preferences are determined by the nature of political stability on the ground and policy motivation. Citizens enjoying political rights have the ability to influence government and fight for their rights. However, in institutions devoid of elections, citizens resort to influencing government officials through unconstitutional means. Subornment, sycophancy or private petitions become the norm in places that are completely lacking representative democracy.

The wishes and desires of citizens is what drive governments (Simon & Jerit, 2007). The citizen, driven by the need to effect changes, takes course to direct the government to its right destination. People rely on the media to learn new political lessons and thereafter put them to effectual use. Citizens may embark on corrective measures by petitioning government leaders for support and guidance on particular issues of concern. Afterwards, the issue can be deliberated on and changed in a manner that suits the general population. Progress cannot be attained without progressively partaking in steps that change government mistakes. Citizens have the power to replace errant representatives through the one-vote system. Hudson (2009), argues that elections help compensate disparities that may exist in political resources. In the words of Hudson (2009) “elections are considered the essential institution in the modern conception of democracy” (p. 170).

People compete in a struggle that leads to scramble for public votes. The Greeks hypothesized the idea of isegoria which implied the right for the people to seek equal representation by speaking to an assembly of representatives. In modern public policy, citizens have no power to change policy like the Greeks did. Changing policies in a representative democracy becomes the prerogative of elected representatives. These views and ideas will then be put into consideration or rejected in a unanimous decision-making process. To ensure a representative democracy has the hallmarks of political representation, political parties organize voters after selecting the right candidates slated to hold office. Thereafter, the winning party then forms the structure that forms government of choice.

Read more: The Role Played by the Media in the 2000 U.S. Presidential Election

Adan Makina,
Email: adan.makina@gmail.com

—————
Mr. Makina is an essayist and a member of WardheerNews editorial board and author of ‘The Northern Frontier District: the biography of Sultan Deghow Maalim Sambul’.