Preview -- World News Tonight 12/6/00

N E W   Y O R K, Dec. 8 -- Good Afternoon.

We began this day by preparing three utterly different broadcasts. Expecting several different scenarios. Then came the stunner from Tallahassee — at one minute past 4 this afternoon. “An earthquake of an opinion,” ABCNEWS legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin said. And another startling reversal of fortunes — a month and a day after Election Day.

In a 4-3 decision, the Florida Supreme Court has overturned the Leon County Circuit Court’s ruling — and tossed a sizable life raft to Vice President Al Gore. The court ruled that manual recounts must begin in those Florida counties in dispute; that votes that were not included in the previous count must now be included — bringing Gore to within fewer than 200 votes of Texas Gov. George W. Bush; and that recounts must now begin in any counties where so-called “undervotes” were an issue.

There were dissenting opinions from the court — but in the end we are left with a potentially very messy situation, and a great many questions.

The Bush side has already appealed this decision to the U.S. Supreme Court. What will the nation’s highest court do with this decision?

Then there is the question of time. How will all these recounts get done? Is the Dec. 12 deadline for the certification of electors hard and fast? What standards will be used (chads, dimples, etc.) in the counting?

Bush’s plans for next week — to go to Capitol Hill, formalize his staff appointments, and perhaps even visit with President Clinton — are now on hold. If Vice President Gore did indeed have a concession speech written, will he ever be compelled to share it with the nation?

The stage is now set — on the night when many of us were expecting an end to Election 2000 — for an enormous battle between not only the candidates — but quite possibly between various branches of state and federal government.

It is — quite simply — an extraordinary day.