Clock ticking as Gore pursues Sunshine State vote recount

Vice President Al Gore raced between television interviews Wednesday asking, "Will we count all the votes or not?" while his lawyers urgently sought a court ruling with the answer he wanted. Gore and rival Texas Gov. George W. Bush pressed forward with separate blueprints for building a presidency.\n"On Jan. 20, a President Bush will be ready to take the reins of the government," said top adviser Andy Card -- awarding his boss a title that Gore still hopes will be his. \nThe vice president is trying to overturn the official results of Florida's make-or-break election before the public's patience runs out on the 22-day ordeal. After heated internal debate, Gore authorized his lawyers to ask the Florida Supreme Court to recount contested ballots or order a lower court to do it, two Democratic sources said. \nBush planned to meet Thursday with retired Gen. Colin Powell, his still-to-be-announced choice as secretary of state. The Texas governor was calling GOP congressional leaders and assigning his staff to call Democratic lawmakers as the vice president struggled to keep his party in line. \nThe Republican-dominated Florida Legislature inched closer to securing Bush a backup plan: Lawmakers were considering naming their own electors to settle the fiercely fought election. Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, the candidate's brother, said he would sign the necessary legislation "if it was the appropriate thing to do." \nStill, with the recount case headed to the highest court in the land, Jeb Bush said, "The United States Supreme Court trumps the Legislature." \nGore, too, played president-elect at a business meeting with running mate Joseph Lieberman, transition director Roy Neel, Labor Secretary Alexis Herman and Kathleen McGinty, former head of the White House environment office. \nMcGinty would be a front-runner to head the Environmental Protection Agency under Gore. Herman would be in line for another Cabinet post, White House counselor or perhaps chief of staff, a job that aides expect would first be offered to campaign manager William Daley. \nFlorida Secretary of State Katherine Harris, a supporter of Republican Bush, has declared him the winner of Florida by 537 votes out of 6 million cast -- handing Gore the steep challenge of nullifying a state's presidential election while convincing the public the race is not over. \nAnd thus, the nation has two presidents-in-waiting posturing to be the 43rd man to assume the mantle. \n"It's an amazing story, isn't it?'' asked Gore, a former journalist joining legions of others grasping for the words to describe it. \nHe was dealt a setback Tuesday when Circuit Judge N. Sanders Sauls refused to order immediate manual recounts of disputed ballots in Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties. The judge scheduled a hearing Saturday on the vice president's petition to include manual recounts in official election totals -- a move that Gore believes would help him overtake Bush. Democratic lawyers want the votes recounted while the central case is being resolved by Sauls. \nGore's political advisers said privately he needed a court victory in the next 48 hours to prevent a fatal erosion of the public's support. Thus, Gore was forced to appeal Sauls' decision, but his advisers were split on how to do it. \nSome on his political and legal team wanted to ask the court to take over the entire case, throwing Gore's presidential aspirations at the feet of seven justices with Democratic ties. Others thought that was too risky, and urged Gore to take the more cautious approach he eventually approved.