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Too Close to Call: The Thirty-Six-Day Battle to Decide the 2000 Election

Jeffrey Toobin

3.95 · Rating details · 630 ratings · 59 reviews

From the best-selling author of A Vast Conspiracy and The Run of His Life comes Too Close to Call--the definitive story of the Bush-Gore presidential recount. A political and legal analyst of unparalleled journalistic skill, Jeffrey Toobin is the ideal writer to distill the events of the thirty-six anxiety-filled days that culminated in one of the most stunning Supreme Cou From the best-selling author of A Vast Conspiracy and The Run of His Life comes Too Close to Call--the definitive story of the Bush-Gore presidential recount. A political and legal analyst of unparalleled journalistic skill, Jeffrey Toobin is the ideal writer to distill the events of the thirty-six anxiety-filled days that culminated in one of the most stunning Supreme Court decisions in history.

Packed with news-making disclosures and written with the drive of a legal thriller, Too Close to Call takes us inside James Baker's private jet, through the locked gates to Al Gore's mansion, behind the covered-up windows of Katherine Harris's office, and even into the secret conference room of the United States Supreme Court. As the scene shifts from Washington to Austin and into the remote corners of the enduringly strange Sunshine State, Toobin's book will transform what you thought you knew about the most extraordinary political drama in American history.

The Florida recount unfolded in a kaleidoscopic maze of bizarre concepts (chads, pregnant and otherwise), unfamiliar people in critically important positions (the Florida Supreme Court), and familiar people in surprising new places (the Miami relatives of Elián González, in a previously undisclosed role in this melodrama). With the rich characterization that is his trademark, Toobin portrays the prominent strategists who masterminded the campaigns--the Daleys and the Roves--and also the lesser-known but influential players who pulled the strings, as well as the judges and justices whose decisions determined the final outcome. Toobin gives both camps a treatment they have not yet received--remarkably evenhanded, nonpartisan, and entirely new.

The post-election period posed a challenge to even the most zealous news junkie: how to keep up with what was happening and sort out the important from the trivial. Jeffrey Toobin has now done this--and then some. With clarity, insight, humor, and a deep understanding of the law, he deconstructs the events, the players, and the often Byzantine intricacies of our judicial system. A remarkable account of one of the most significant periods in our country's history, Too Close to Call is endlessly surprising, frequently poignant, and wholly addictive.

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Published October 8th 2002 by Random House Trade Paperbacks (first published 2001)

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Mar 10, 2019 Matt rated it really liked it

Shelves: audiobook

Anyone who has seen a news report over the last two years will know that America is familiar with controversial elections for the role of President of the United States. That being said, some may not know just how much of a mess the 2000 contest turned out to be between Republican George W. Bush and sitting Vice-President Al Gore. Jeffrey Toobin seeks not only to take the reader back to that contest, but to explore the detailed drama that left the country waiting and watching while the State of Anyone who has seen a news report over the last two years will know that America is familiar with controversial elections for the role of President of the United States. That being said, some may not know just how much of a mess the 2000 contest turned out to be between Republican George W. Bush and sitting Vice-President Al Gore. Jeffrey Toobin seeks not only to take the reader back to that contest, but to explore the detailed drama that left the country waiting and watching while the State of Florida tried to remedy its highly controversial ballot counting and certification. Toobin explores many aspects of the Florida vote, highlighting for the reader some of the major anomalies that could be found throughout. With no single form of ballot being used, each county was left to choose what it wished to employ, from ‘colour the dot’ scanning to ‘puncture the perforation’ choices and a variety of others. Toobin effectively argues that these varied forms created much chaos in the interpretation of voter choices, as well as the placement of names on the paper and the lack of proper calibration of machines used to deliver the choice clearly. With so many issues, the clear voice of the electorate could not necessarily be heard. Add to that, the state’s elected representatives to oversee electoral results were strongly in the Bush camp—none more so than the Governor himself, younger brother to the Republican candidate—and could be seen to rush results and refuse recounts, even when they appeared to be merited. Both the Gore and Bush camps hired sly and politically savvy representatives, seeking to argue their causes in an airtight fashion. Toobin looks at how the recounts, the limitations, and the subsequent legal challenges turned the election into a farce and a complete circus, pitting brevity against voters’ actual sentiments. Not to be outdone in this drama, the US Supreme Court (USSC) got itself involved in state statutes and election results, turning the drama into something akin to a political soap opera more intriguing than watching a White Bronco race up a freeway and a bloodied glove not fit on the hand of a murderer. As the momentum built over time, Toobin offers wonderful narrative depictions of things before the final ruling by the USSC that handed the presidential win to Bush and the Republicans. Full of drama and intriguing questions for the reader to consider, anyone with an interest in reliving the 2000 campaign should find this book and enjoy all that this legal scholar has to say. You’ll not be disappointed!

Having read a number of Toobin’s books before, I knew that I was in for a treat with this piece. His attention to detail and smooth narrative leave the reader feeling as if they are right in the middle of the action, rather than viewing things from a dry and academic perspective. Toobin honed in on the action from the opening paragraphs, spinning the story of voting irregularities and weaving that theme throughout. His focus on many of the actors on all sides of the situation provides the reader with a sense of thoroughness, even if there is an inherent bias within the presentation. I ask myself how one cannot have that perspective, with democratic limitations put in place, though I am sure many of the Bush fans have already screamed foul. The slow and deliberate build-up throughout the narrative, adding necessary tangents to fuel the fires of controversy helped to enrich the end product. Toobin lays out the issues and allows the reader to editorialise all their own, though there are surely some glaring questions that leave the attentive reader unsettled. Did Florida ever leave behind the ballots that created these headaches? Why has there not been a push to streamline the type of ballots? Could this experience be yet another reason to question the decentralised nature of the United States, particularly when it comes to elections on a national scale? Add to that the stunning revelations that come in the epilogue and the reader may want to scoop their jaw off the floor. While the chapters may be long and information-packed, the reader will surely feel relieved that the thoroughness allows them more of a comprehensive exploration on the topic, as fans of Toobin’s work have come to expect. After reading this, there is surely a great deal of controversy and bad blood that needed to be rectified. Even today, almost two decades later, I am shocked at how things transpired. But, there is always a silver lining... at least the GOP candidate did not use the Russians to steal the election in 2000 as well.

Kudos, Mr. Toobin, for keeping the story moving and the insights plentiful. I always learn so much when I read one of your books!

Like/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
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A Book for All Seasons, a different sort of Book Challenge: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/... ...more

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Jun 17, 2017 Bren rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Recommends it for: Democrats who want to feel crummy, Republicans who want to gloat.

Shelves: read-and-reviewed, educational, political-non-fiction, non-fiction, dc

Sigh.

If you really want to get depressed, read this book which tells the (true) story of our 2000 Presidential election.

It is SO depressing. I mean..I rem ember back then thinking "it can't get any worse then this". Boy was I wrong! When I am wrong, I say it. Wrongers! Oh how wrong little ole me was!

The thing is..I miss George Bush. How SAD is that?! But what I would not give to have him back in office rather then the Man Baby we have now.

Donald Trump makes George Bush look like paradise. But th ...more

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Feb 18, 2016 Jeremy rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This was not the democracy Jed Bartlet taught me to believe in.

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Apr 20, 2009 Philip rated it really liked it

"The votes of Florida have been counted. They have been recounted. And tonight they have been certified."
-George Bush

In college, I remember reading and hearing a little bit about the Florida recount, thinking it was bizarre, and moving on.

Not surprisingly, the story is bizarre. Not bizarre in the "they stole the election kind of way" - although I felt more sympathetic to those people after reading the book.

The book looks at the differing approaches of the Republicans and the Democrats to the re ...more

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Nov 05, 2009 Janet rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: politics

While I was well-aware of all the general information in this saga, I learned many more details.Very good at filling in the personalities and political leanings of all the players.Very fast-paced book.

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Jun 25, 2009 Rebecca rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This was a great recap of the 2000 Presidential election, one of two important U.S. events that happened while I was out of the country. I finally feel like I know what was going on!

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Nov 27, 2020 Tammy Mannarino rated it really liked it

Very well done, but I do wish that he had been more objective. It was fascinating to read in light of our current situation. In some ways the 2000 and 2020 elections seem similar (divided country, post election recounts and court cases), but they really are very different. The race in Florida was truly close 537 votes whereas we don't have anything like that today. Toobin's book really highlights how differently voting is handled in distinct areas within a single state (butterfly ballots, OCR ba ...more

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Apr 26, 2018 Bob Nielsen rated it really liked it

If you have interest in this election, this book covers it very well. I didn't feel it was slanted in either direction, instead just gave the facts as they were known at the time of the writing.

I've had this book for a number of years and never got around to it, so I decided I would pull it off the shelf and give it a go. This is the first time in a few years that I read an actual hardcover book and not a Kindle edition of a book. Wow, what a cumbersome way to read a book. With my Kindle, I can ...more

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Mar 08, 2020 Hasan rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, us-politics, us-current-affairs, argument

I finally finished this book! I started it as a physical book on an airplane flight three years ago and then wasn't able to dedicate the time necessary to completing it. Fast forward three years and I finished this book as a dedicated audiobook format consumer.

Reading this book in 2020 really makes my blood boil as a Democrat reading about the most controversial election reversal of my lifetime. Al Gore had won votes in Florida. But his team was too consumed about public opinion, Washington DC o ...more

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Nov 11, 2020 Colin Loberg rated it really liked it

-I started reading this before Toobin’s Zoom nudity incident

-I strongly recommend reading the Wikipedia page of the Florida Secretary of State, Katherine Harris. Toobin finished this book less than a year after the election and speculates she’d run for Congress but couldn’t predict her dramatic fall from grace over the next 5 years https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katheri...

-page 145: “[Roger Stone] specialized in the quixotic, short lived presidential campaigns of people such as Senator Arlen Spe ...more

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Aug 06, 2017 Richard rated it liked it

Ultimately dispiriting, this book shows the irrelevancy of the the voters' will. I read it because I thought two later books by Toobin, "The Run of His Life" (OJ Simpson trial) and "American Heiress" were excellent. I found "Too Close to Call" competent but less gripping. The politicians and lawyers make less of an impact on the reader. Also, the story of powerful men and women manipulating the results of a presidential election through lies is a painfully familiar one. ...more

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Jan 27, 2021 Rebecca Thomas rated it it was amazing

Since I had heard a lot of commentary about the 2000 election that said Democrats were wrong thinking that Bush had stolen the election I wanted to see what really happened. This is an excellent book. It showed me that more Democrats want to do what is right than Republicans. Republicans just want power to fulfill their right wing agenda. I guess Democrats are going to need to fight dirty.
Hooray for Black Lives Matter and getting out the vote movement.

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Jul 07, 2017 Simon rated it really liked it · review of another edition

He is a great writer to read. I did not realize that there was never a hand recount of all the votes. I also have understood that the difference between the two camps is that the Republicans did anything to win, including racism. Also the Florida House of Representatives were prepared to vote to give all their Electoral Votes to even if Gore had won the recount..

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Mar 29, 2020 Hannah Mumm rated it liked it

Super interesting. This guy is probably the go-to expert on Bush v. Gore, but there were just so many characters (as there would be in an enormous legal battle, I guess). But it was just hard to keep track of them.

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May 05, 2020 Jeremy rated it really liked it

Wow. What a story. There are so many things going on here. I certiantly knew the issues with the recounts in those counties and maybe Florida statewide, but I did not realize how differently the two candidates and their staff handled this. I'm not surprised to learn the Republicans handled this with shrewd unity and that Democrats tried to take the high road making sure that they don't offend or look bad. I also found it interesting to learn how indifferent Gore's staff felt towards him compared ...more

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Nov 08, 2018 Kathleen Kirchner rated it liked it

Good info but the last few pages were too partisan for my taste.

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Jan 11, 2019 Jared Goerke rated it really liked it · review of another edition

A very interesting look at the 2000 presidential recount.

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Sep 17, 2020 Bradley rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2020-read

At times I actually thought Gore has a chance to pull it off.

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Oct 11, 2020 Justin Bitner rated it really liked it

Fascinating coverage of a wild moment in political history.

This was almost a 5-star, but there were so many characters, it was really tough to tell who was on who’s side a lot of the time.

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Nov 02, 2020 Caitlin rated it really liked it

plot twist at the end!!!

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Jan 27, 2021 Chip Redihan rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2021

Wow..an incredible insight into just how close we were to President Gore. Especially interesting in the aftermath of the 2020 election

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Mar 01, 2021 Scott Peterson rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Legal and Politics Buffs Will Love This Book

This book should be dense and boring. But it is a true page turner if you enjoy history, politics, and the law.

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Nov 29, 2012 Paul rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Toobin’s analysis of the battle over the 2000 presidential election recount in Florida exposes any number of faults in the American democratic process. Ordinarily, the will of the electorate is fairly clear, and these faults do not effect the outcome of an election. In the extrordinarily close election between George W. Bush and Al Gore, however, our imperfect system ground to a near halt and left us with an outcome that in all likelihood did not express the will of the voters.

At the most basic Toobin’s analysis of the battle over the 2000 presidential election recount in Florida exposes any number of faults in the American democratic process. Ordinarily, the will of the electorate is fairly clear, and these faults do not effect the outcome of an election. In the extrordinarily close election between George W. Bush and Al Gore, however, our imperfect system ground to a near halt and left us with an outcome that in all likelihood did not express the will of the voters.

At the most basic level, the act of recording voters’ intentions is prone to errors. Sometimes errors arise from a faulty (though well intentioned) ballot layout, like the infamous Palm County “butterfly” ballot that almost certainly confused Gore supporters into voting for Pat Buchanan. At other times, voting machines introduce errors, as evidenced by the debate that was raged over dimpled and hanging chads.

Constitutionally, the vestigal Electoral College can leave what ought to be a national issue (the number of votes garnered by each presidential candidate) in the murky netherworld between the rights of states and those of the federal government. Toobin writes, “In the nationwide total, Gore defeated Bush by 540,520 votes, or .51 percent, which was more than four times greater than John F. Kennedy’s margin over Richard Nixon in 1960.” In other words, the election should never have devolved to a contest fought solely in Florida.

Most fatally, our two-party system makes impartial election oversight almost impossible: when nearly every political official is either a Democrat or a Republican, third-party observers a few and far between. For every even-handed actor in this account—Tallahassee Judge Terry Lewis receives special praise from Toobin—there are a dozen or more so-called public servants like Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris who are far more interested in partisan victories than in fairness and legality.

Toobin’s account is at its best when it describes, with morbid fascination, the interaction between the partisans called upon by Gore and Bush to wage the recount battle and the elected and appointed officials trusted by the American people to act in the public’s interest. Far too often, Toobin is able to document the partisans’ encroachment on the public interest.

In the end, however, it was the United States Supreme Court that called an end to the recount and provided no clear standard for impartiality, leaving the outcome of the election in the hands of a state government controlled by the brother of the election’s ultimate victor. Toobin reserves some of his harshest criticism for the land’s highest court:

The basic obligation of a court devoted to precedent is to create rules of general application. Here, however, the Supreme Court was announcing in advance that the case of Bush v. Gore existed to serve only the Republican candidate for president in 2000. For those who would see cynical motives in the work of the majority—who thought they were acting more from political than principled motives—this sentence looked like a confession. O’Connor, Kennedy, and the others, it appeared, limited themselves to “the present circumstances” because that was what was necessary to assure their candidate’s victory.

Sadly, few states outside of Florida have taken substantive steps to ensure that the debacle of 2000 isn’t repeated. Perhaps the American electorate is too divided, and too firmly entrenched in a two-party duopoly, to care about electoral impartiality. Perhaps we’re just too lazy. Either way, democracy is the victim. ...more

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Apr 09, 2017 Louis rated it liked it

Shelves: campaigns-and-elections, law

Jeffrey Toobin’s Too Close to Call: The Thirty-Six-Day Battle to Decide the 2000 Election is the story of the contested 2000 United States presidential election and the subsequent legal and political battle. The contested election in Florida was not the result of a single mistake or decision but rather a “perfect storm” including: flawed ballots, voters improperly marking their ballots, and poorly calibrated voting machines. This led to conflicts over voter intent on certain ballots and which ba ...more

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Apr 27, 2011 Ryan rated it liked it

An in-depth account of the 2000 Florida recount by CNN's chief legal analyst. Toobin, who was in Florida covering the recount, tells the behind-the-scenes tale of the month-long battle, and explains the legal and political processes involved.

In Toobin's account, Bush had several key advantages during the recount battle:
1. Bush had started off in the lead after election night, and thus carried a public imprimatur that few judges or election officials dared to challenge.
2. The Republicans were abl An in-depth account of the 2000 Florida recount by CNN's chief legal analyst. Toobin, who was in Florida covering the recount, tells the behind-the-scenes tale of the month-long battle, and explains the legal and political processes involved.

In Toobin's account, Bush had several key advantages during the recount battle:
1. Bush had started off in the lead after election night, and thus carried a public imprimatur that few judges or election officials dared to challenge.
2. The Republicans were able to use the full leverage of Jeb Bush's Florida contacts, including the state's politicians and top lawyers.
3. Many clumsy mistakes were made by well-intended non-partisans, and Democrats themselves, almost all of which ended up helping Bush's case (e.g., Miami-Dade's recount halt, Palm Beach County's butterfly ballot, and the arbitrary December 12th deadline, to name a few).
4. Gore was hesitant to push all-out for victory, and almost seemed to prefer a bloodless loss to a bloody win (a trait not shared by his opponent).
5. Katherine Harris, the Republican Secretary of State, refused to act impartially, and tried desperately to end the recounts, period.
6. And finally, the U.S. Supreme Court was tilted 5-4 to the conservatives justices, which was the final margin in the Bush v. Gore case that stayed the recount.

As Toobin says in his epilogue, a non-binding outside review of the votes found that Gore would have won a statewide recount. His blame, however, is mostly laid at the bumbling institutions of the Florida courts and canvassing boards, and at the fatefully bad decisions made by Gore's team (such as deciding to force recounts in only four counties, and not statewide). Though Toobin makes note of the Bush team's relentless drive for victory, he doesn't blame them because they did what good lawyers do, which is battle decisively for their client. It's obvious in his epilogue, however, that he holds a special disgust for the Bush v. Gore verdict, its gossamer arguments, and the partisan stain that it would leave on the court.

This was an interesting book on an important time in modern political history. Though it was dry at points, and focused on too many different characters, it was an honest, unsparing, and still enlightening story. ...more

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May 13, 2008 Jack rated it really liked it

While this book sounds like a dry factual account - and it contains as much information as I would expect from a good one - it's also suprisingly emotionally effective. It's hard to discern to what extent that derives from Toobin's prose and analysis and to what extent it derives from the memories the topic recalls, but either way it's an impressive feat. It is, for better or worse, like reliving the tension, exasperation, and disappointment five weeks following the 2000 election.

The dynamics a ...more

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Jan 27, 2011 David rated it liked it

Shelves: judiciary

As the saga reaches its climax (and as his story approaches its conclusion) Toobin's bias becomes increasingly difficult to ignore or mitigate. His tone starts balanced and reasonably fair, but becomes increasingly shrill and mean-spirited. Hard to concentrate on getting through the story without that needless distraction. He undermines his case by taking the swipes at Republican efforts and excusing Democrats.
I thoroughly enjoyed "The Nine" and was really looking forward to his interpretation o ...more

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Dec 11, 2013 Brian rated it really liked it

I did enjoy this book to a very high level. Not only did it contain insight on the election before it happened, in very detailed manner, it also showed the effects post-election. This election had a very significant impact on the United States, and it challenged the Judiciary system and the courts, and tested the integrity of both candidates. Both Bush and Gore had to exemplify patience to a high level and maintain their equanimity in a very stressful situation. The author, Jeffery Toobin, had g ...more

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Feb 16, 2011 Andrew rated it it was amazing

Shelves: nonfiction, politics, history

I reread this recently in anticipation of shenanigans and a scare somewhere with the recent 2008 election. It is absolutely fascinating. Jeff Toobin makes the ins and outs of archaic Florida election law accessible to even the most amateur reader of law (read: me) and the resulting material is tremendously compelling. The disgusting advantages afforded to each side on a daily basis; the tenuous connection that Dems and the GOP had on winning the battle to recount the votes; Gore's meekness in fi ...more

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Aug 11, 2010 David rated it really liked it

We all might want to forget that it ever happened -- not only the election that the U.S. Supreme Court superseded but also the whole George W. Bush presidency that followed. That would be unwise. Reading Toobin's book 10 years after the historic episode you can see how the principles (or lack of them) of the Bush administration and Republicans were in operation even before day one, e.g., win at all costs, no compromising or bipartisanship.

Gore comes out looking high-principled but uninspiring as ...more

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About Jeffrey Toobin

Jeffrey Toobin

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Jeffrey Ross Toobin (J.D., Harvard Law School, 1986; B.A., American History and Literature, Harvard University) is a lawyer, blogger, and media legal correspondent for CNN and formerly The New Yorker magazine. He previously served as an Assistant United States Attorney in Brooklyn, New York, and later worked as a legal analyst for ABC News, where he received a 2001 Emmy Award for his coverage of t ...more