Oklahoma Republicans glad it's over

Thursday, December 14th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating, whose name has come up as a potential cabinet member for President-elect George W. Bush, said Wednesday that now is the time for the nation to rally behind the Texas governor.

Vice President Al Gore called Bush shortly before a televised national speech to offer his congratulations.

In a televised national speech Wednesday night, Bush called upon the nation to ``put politics behind us and work together'' on education, Social Security, Medicare and tax relief after a wrenching election.

Keating has often been mentioned as an attractive candidate for U.S. attorney general. He was No. 3 at the Justice Department during Bush's father's administration.

``It should be reassuring to all Americans that despite the often emotional events of the past month, the rule of law has at last prevailed and we have a president-elect,'' Keating said.

Keating congratulated Bush and Gore and said he was looking forward to the Texas governor's Jan. 20 inauguration.

``He has been a good friend and neighbor to me and to Oklahoma, and I know he will be an outstanding president,'' Keating said. ``His record in Texas clearly shows that he is uniquely equipped to reach across party lines and get on with the nation's business.''

U.S. Sen. Don Nickles, R-Okla., said he looks forward to working with Bush and members of both parties to unite Americans behind principals that expand freedom and opportunity to all.

``Tonight marks the end of a bitter, hard-fought election, but now is the time for all Americans to unite behind our president-elect,'' Nickles said. ``Closing this chapter in history brings many challenges, but also real opportunities for progress.''

Mike Turpen, former state Democratic chairman who headed the Gore effort in Oklahoma, said he supported the new president but Bush has ``no reason to beat his chest,'' having lost the national popular vote and barely won a contested vote in Florida.

``He'll be in for a tough four years'' if he does not reject extreme GOP partisans in Congress, promote mainstream programs and bring Democrats into his administration, Turpen said.

Newly elected Brad Carson _ the only Democrat in Oklahoma's congressional delegation _ said he thought Gore had a good case, but it was time to concede the election.

``Now the task is to respect the new president and continue to respect the Supreme Court,'' he said. ``A rift will occur in this country only if elected leaders question the legitimacy of institutions like the Supreme Court.''

Steve Edwards, state Republican chairman, said the ordeal had put Bush five weeks behind in organizing his administration and he hopes this will teach election officials to abandon punch ballot systems.

``The unfortunate thing is they knew they had problems in Florida but did nothing about it,'' he said. ``A study in 1998 indicated their system was a mess.''

Edwards complimented state Election Board Secretary Lance Ward and his predecessor for installing a uniform optical scanning system that prevents problems that cropped up in Florida.

``I would like to see optical scanners used around the country in two years,'' he said. ``Any use of paper ballots or punch ballots after what happened in Florida is crazy.''

Although Democrats still hold almost a 2-1 lead over Republicans in voter registration, Oklahoma has not voted for a Democratic presidential contender since 1964.

This year, Bush won Oklahoma's eight electoral votes by a 744,337-to-474,246 margin over Gore.