At a brief meeting with press at the Texas Governor's Mansion Friday afternoon, Bush -- who sported a mysterious Band-Aid on his right cheek and cracked jokes with New York Times reporter Frank Bruni -- told reporters, "We have a Constitution, and I live by that Constitution." And though some voters will be disappointed by the outcome and "there are still votes to be counted," Bush said he would move ahead in "preparing for a possible administration." In an apparent response to his loss of the popular vote, Bush said he would seek to "unite the country" if installed as its next president.

The Bush campaign had moved quickly to claim victory Friday morning. "We have had an election that showed Governor Bush won the state of Florida. We have now had a recount that showed Governor Bush won the state of Florida. And I hope all parties involved would think about the good of the country," Bush spokeswoman Karen Hughes told reporters.

At a press conference in Florida convened just after noon EST, former Secretary of State James Baker, dispatched by Bush to monitor the state's recount, warned the Democrats not to open a can of worms by asking for additional recounts of the Florida vote. Baker hinted that if the Gore campaign takes legal action, the Bush campaign could do so elsewhere. He also implored the vice president to concede the race rather than engage in "endless legal wrangling."

"For the good of the country and for the sake of our standing in the world, the campaigning should end and the business of an orderly transition should begin," Baker told reporters.

But the Gore camp was not conceding. "Contrary to claims being made this morning by the Bush campaign, this election is not over," countered Gore campaign chairman William Daley. "Again, we want the true and accurate will of the people to prevail, and that means letting the legal system run its course."

And if his election is confirmed, Bush still faces a public baffled by the arcane process of the electoral college. A just-released NBC News national poll reports that 56 percent of Americans say the winner of the popular vote should become the next president, while only 39 percent support the electoral college winner. But despite their criticism of the outcome, 72 percent of respondents said that if the winner of the electoral college vote serves the next president, it would not affect his ability to lead the country.

On Thursday, the Gore campaign demanded a hand count of the votes in Palm Beach County and three other Florida counties, claiming ballot irregularities and other problems reduced Gore's vote by enough to cost him victory in that pivotal state. The Bush campaign countered by threatening recounts in Iowa and Wisconsin, where Gore won razor-thin victories. A recount is already underway in New Mexico, which Gore narrowly won.

"Technicalities should not determine the president of the United States," said Daley, who added he believes Gore won the popular vote in Florida. Daley raised the possibility that legal challenges to the Palm Beach County vote and other concerns could lead to a new election.

"I think another election [is something] that will be looked at by the courts further down the road," Daley said.

More than 19,000 ballots were invalidated in Palm Beach County because voters appeared to vote for two candidates. In that same county, a liberal stronghold, Reform Party candidate Pat Buchanan received 3,407 votes, more than three times his total in any other Florida county. After Daley's demand, Palm Beach County officials voluntarily agreed to conduct a hand count of their disputed ballot.

The Bush camp fired back aggressively, claiming that Palm Beach County is a Buchanan stronghold, and that the number of votes cast for Buchanan is reasonable.

"New information has come to our attention that puts in perspective the results of the vote in Palm Beach County," charged the statement issued by Bush campaign spokesman Ari Fleischer. "Palm Beach County is a Pat Buchanan stronghold and that's why Pat Buchanan received 3,407 votes there.

"According to the Florida Department of State, 16,695 voters in Palm Beach County are registered to the Independent Party, the Reform Party or the American Reform Party, an increase of 110 percent since the 1996 presidential election," the statement continued. Bush officials also pointed out that more than 14,000 Palm Beach County ballots were disqualified in 1996.

"The Democrats who are politicizing and distorting these routine and predictable events risk doing our democracy a disservice," the statement said.

But counting the American Reform Party and the Independent Party together with Buchanan's Reform Party as evidence of Buchanan's appeal may be misleading. The Independent Party endorsed Buchanan's Reform Party rival, John Hagelin. And the American Reform Party split with Reform, and this year endorsed Ralph Nader for president.

Likewise, the GOP's basis for calling Palm Beach County a "Pat Buchanan stronghold" was unclear. Buchanan wasn't on the ballot in November 1996, when President Clinton overwhelmingly carried the county. Reform Party candidate Ross Perot received 30,739 votes for president, 7.75 percent of the vote. But that's lower than the 9.1 percent of the vote Perot received statewide. Buchanan did receive more than 7,000 votes in the Republican primary in Palm Beach County that year, but he was a far more viable candidate then, having won the New Hampshire primary.

Earlier on Thursday, former Secretary of State James Baker, tapped by Bush to monitor the Florida recount, said he had seen neither allegations of fraud nor evidence of it. He said the controversial Palm Beach County ballots had been reviewed before the election by both campaigns. "And guess what: There were no complaints until after the election," Baker said.

Later in the day Baker said, "The presidential election is ... on hold."

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