A Chequer-Board of Nights and Days

Ron Klain, the counsel for Al Gore during the 2000 recount in Florida, has now emerged to argue that Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador ought to take the low road in contesting the Mexican Presidential race.

Why? Because supposedly, in 2000, George W. Bush did that as well:

For the presidential campaign of Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador, narrowly declared the loser to Felipe Calderòn in Mexico's much-disputed returns, there is good news and bad news. The good news is that he has avoided the two biggest problems that confronted Al Gore in Recount 2000: being forced to contest the election in a jurisdiction where the governor was his opponent's brother, and being tormented by a chief election official who was a partisan operative with a bizarre Queen Esther complex. The bad news, however, is that, where Gore trailed in the initial tally in Florida by fewer than 2,000 votes, Lopez Obrador is more than 200,000 votes behind. It's only a matter of time before the Mexican equivalent of our pundit class begins its demands for "finality."

For Lopez Obrador, the clock is ticking loudly. If he wants to keep his candidacy alive, he must take decisive -- and quite divisive -- action. He must bring meaningful and documented claims of fraud in the election. He must call his supporters to the streets and question the legitimacy of the vote casting and counting process. He must demand that, notwithstanding Mexican law, every ballot be recounted, by hand, to ensure an accurate tally. Above all, he must reject any suggestion that Calderòn received more votes -- indeed, he must insist that any fair count would show that he is the rightful winner.

Most of the rest of the article is dedicated to rehashing the 2000 Florida recount--ignoring reports like this because they needlessly complicate Klain's narrative. But the playbook for Lopez Obrador is clear. And he is following it:

Downtown Mexico City swelled Saturday with the accumulated frustration and rage of the poor, who were stoked into a sign-waving, fist-pumping frenzy by new fraud allegations that failed populist candidate Andrés Manuel López Obrador hopes will overturn the results of Mexico's presidential election.

López Obrador ignited the smoldering emotions of his followers Saturday morning, alleging for the first time that Mexico's electoral commission had rigged its computers before the July 2 election to ensure the half-percentage-point victory of Felipe Calderón, a champion of free trade. In a news conference before the rally, López Obrador called Calderón "an employee" of Mexico's powerful upper classes and said a victory by his conservative opponent would be "morally impossible."

Calderón is ahead by over 200,000 votes. "Morally impossible" or not, that's quite impressive. But apparently, it is illegitimate because it doesn't fit into Lopez Obrador's worldview.

Which is why Lopez Obrador--and Ron Klain--will ignore this:

Calderón was declared the winner Thursday and has begun publicly presenting his plans for Mexico, even though López Obrador has refused to concede. European Union election observers have said they found no significant irregularities in the vote, and many Mexicans appeared to accept Calderón as their next president.

But no matter, eh? Let's just be as "divisive" as Klain suggests Lopez Obrador should be. After all, conceding the obvious would be "morally impossible," wouldn't it?