Book Review: Center of the Storm, by Katherine Harris

When I received my review copy of Katherine Harris' book, "Center of the Storm", I thought that I would finally get the "down and dirty" on what really happened during this crucial election. Katherine Harris is famous as the Florida Secretary of State who certified the election for Bush. Of course, the action provoked a fire storm from the left and from the left-leaning press. And yes, the book does give an account of what happened from the perspective of Katherine Harris. But "Center of the Storm" is far more than a simple tell-all tale of the shenanigans of the election. It is a bible for anyone in public office who must make hard choices.

Katherine Harris was vilified in the press and faced terrible pressures to bow to the wishes of the Gore Campaign to order recounts in four heavily Democratic counties. Instead of caving-in, Katherine Harris adhered to the law and her conviction to do what was right. As anyone who has been in public life knows, it is not always easy to do the right thing. Katherine Harris recounts how she was able to stand firm. This aspect of her story is interesting and inspiring. She enunciates twelve principles that she applies to her life. They seem basic and even homey, "Remember Your Raising", "Stick to Your Guns", "Feed Your Mind", "Resist the Tyranny of the Urgent"...

There is a chapter for each principle loaded with quotes, thoughts and poems from famous thinkers and moralists through the ages. Men and women such as Abraham Lincoln, Plato, Susan B. Anthony, Joan of Arc and C.S. Lewis provide the foundational support. Ms. Harris describes how each principle helped her through particular events. In this regard, she spends a certain number of pages dealing with what she calls "Myth Conceptions", or misperceptions that have arisen regarding her role in the 2000 election. Her approach is not defensive; she is simply working hard to correct the historical record.

The prose is straightforward and perhaps idealistic as you might expect from a woman who had weathered the storm and still is sailing in choppy seas. Ms. Harris shows herself to be intellectually well-grounded and hard-working. She is also politically astute as she illustrates in her chapter on diversity. Here, she is very careful in dealing with the question of race. While she lauds differences in cultures, she does not cleave to the leftist demands for quotas. She shows how the melting pot that is America is one of the factors that makes it great. But it is great because of the contributions that each culture can make to the whole. She does not make a fetish of race as leftists are wont to do.

And, indeed, race played a crucial role in the Gore Campaign's demands for recounts. Their argument was that blacks were disenfranchised by the system. Yet as Katherine Harris ably points out, the Florida election system is quite decentralized and the functionaries in charge of elections in each county had far more control over voting procedures within the county than Ms. Harris possessed. Thus, in the democratic counties that were in dispute, the functionaries were all Democrats. Thus, the finger pointing at Ms. Harris was woefully misdirected. If there was any intentional disenfranchisement of Black voters it was due to partisans for Gore.

In any event, the 2000 election results will be argued interminably throughout the span of U.S. history.

"Center of the Storm: Practicing Principled Leadership in Times of Crisis", by Katherine Harris is a thoughtful and inspirational book. More than a history of the 2000 Presidential Campaign, it is a primmer for anyone facing the demands of public life. ***

This book is available at Amazon.com.