In his first act as president-elect of the US, George W. Bush on Wednesday urged Americans to unite and move beyond any bitterness that might remain from his epic battle with Democrat Al Gore.
Speaking less than an hour after Vice President Gore conceded defeat in the presidential election, Bush, the governor of Texas, said the US had to "rise above a house divided."
The two dramatic speeches, 36 days after one of the closest and hardest-fought presidential elections in US history followed by a ferocious legal battle, brought the election to a peaceful end. They opened the way for an orderly transfer of power to Bush, leading to his inauguration as president on Jan. 20.
"I know America wants reconciliation and unity. I know Americans want progress. And we must seize this moment and deliver," Bush declared in the chambers of the Texas House of Representatives. In a sign of the bipartisanship Bush hopes to bring to Washington, Bush was introduced by the state's Democratic speaker Pete Laney.
A day after the Supreme Court, by a 5-4 vote, finally killed his White House hopes, Gore yielded in a generous and witty address, calling on all Americans to unite behind "President-elect Bush."
"Just moments ago I talked to George W. Bush and congratulated him on becoming the 43rd president of the United States, and promised that I would not call him back this time," Gore said, referring to his short-lived concession on Election Night, which he rescinded an hour later.
"I offered to meet with him as soon as possible so that we can start to heal the divisions of the campaign and the contest through which we just passed," Gore said. With his wife Tipper, other family members and his vice presidential running mate Joseph Lieberman standing behind him, Gore called on voters to put aside all partisan rancor.
Aides had said Gore, who won the popular vote by some 300,000, would not use the word "concession" in his remarks. But he confounded them by stating quite clearly that the election was over and he had lost.
"I offer my concession," Gore said.
Gore was only the fourth presidential candidate to win the popular vote but lose the election and the first since 1888. He closed his remarks, saying, "And now my friends, in a phrase I once addressed to others, `it is time for me to go.'"
That was the slogan he unveiled at the Democratic convention in 1992 when Gore accepted the nomination to be Bill Clinton's vice president and called on voters to oust then President George Bush, father of the new president-elect.
Much of Bush's text seemed to be taken from his standard campaign stump speech. He said he would work with Democrats to improve public schools, save the Social Security retirement program, offer prescription drug benefits to retirees, strengthen the military and cut taxes.
"We have discussed our differences; now it is time to find common ground and build consensus to make America a beacon of opportunity in the 21st century," Bush said.
"I am optimistic this can happen. Our future demands it, and our history proves it," he said.
"I was not elected to serve one party, but to serve one nation," Bush said. "Whether you voted for me or not, I will do my best to serve your interests, and I will work to earn your respect."
Bush will take the helm of a divided nation. The Democrats and Republicans are tied 50-50 in the Senate, leaving presumptive Vice President Dick Cheney with the deciding vote. The Republicans have a wafer-thin majority of less than 10 votes in the 435-member House of Representatives.
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