"How can we teach our children that every vote counts if we are not willing to make a good-faith effort to count every vote?" Lieberman said.

Former Secretary of State James Baker, who is spearheading the Bush effort, promptly fired back, emphasizing that the Texas Governor had been declared the winner of Florida at each step of the drawn-out legal battle.

"At some point there must be closure," Baker said. "At some point the law must prevail, and the lawyers must go home. We have reached that point."

At the long-awaited certification announcement, state officials tried, without a hint of facetiousness in their voices, to emphasize that Florida's tumultuous election had finally come to an end.

"Yogi Berra said it's not over 'til it's over. Well, it's over," said Florida's Secretary of Agriculture Bob Crawford.

And with the Florida win, Bush technically has won 271 electoral votes and the nationwide election--but a continuing set of legal battles ensures that the presidency will not be definitely decided for at least one more week.

"We're now in a two-week-or-so period in which you have a contest on both sides of this election," said Rep. Richard A. Gephardt, the House minority leader.