Bush hangs on, AP says, but other wildcards cloud forecast

George W. Bush met with advisers Friday to plan for a new White House administration and called for a quick resolution to the Florida voting dispute that left the nation without a new leader three days days after the presidential election. Bush’s campaign employed sharper rhetoric, accusing Al Gore of mounting “endless challenges” and calling on the Democrat to concede if an official recount also shows he lost in the pivotal state. Gore’s top campaign aide refused to rule out a legal challenge to the Florida vote and charged the Republicans were trying to declare a winner before the results were clear. With a county-by-county survey of all 67 of Florida’s counties by The Associated Press showing that the statewide recount left Bush with a lead of 327 votes, officials with Bush’s campaign sought to turn up pressure on Gore to drop further appeals. But with allegations of irregularities swirling and ballots from overseas residents still to be counted, it appeared the dispute over the outcome would continue through Tuesday at least. The state issued an updated tally at midday Friday showing Bush with a 960-vote lead out of nearly 6 million cast, with only two counties remaining to be recounted. It was not immediately clear whether those figures were in conflict with the AP survey.