How did George W. Bush win the 2000 Presidential Election?

George W. Bush won the election by securing a majority of
votes in the electoral college, pure and simple. The election became complicated because
of the closeness of the popular vote in Florida. Florida at the time carried twenty five
electoral votes, and either Bush or Albert Gore would win the election if he carried
Florida. A number of Florida ballots were disputed and recounted several times. The
Florida Secretary of State issued a ruling which certified Bush as the winner of the
election in Florida. This decision was challenged in court by Gore, as the Secretary of
State was a Republican and there was some argument that her decision was made on
political considerations. The Florida Supreme Court reversed the Secretary of State's
decision; however the case was appealed directly to the United States Supreme Court. The
case was Bush vs. Gore. The Supreme Court in a 5-4 decision reversed the decision of the
Florida court, and thereby awarded the election to Bush. Interestingly, the five
justices who voted in Bush's favor were Republican and those who voted in Gore's favor
were Democrats.

Many people cried foul and claimed Bush
"stole" the election. Similar charges were leveled against Rutherford B. Hayes in the
disputed election of 1877; in fact Hayes was often called "old Rutherfraud," and "his
fraudulency." It is quite probable that if Gore had won the election, he too would have
been accused of stealing it. Under any circumstances, Bush won re-election in 2004 on
his own and that election was never challenged.