USTIN, Texas - Two hours after Florida officials certified him as the state's winner, George W. Bush laid claim to the presidency last night with a somber speech calling on Vice President Al Gore to drop his legal challenge to the election.
Moving swiftly after a three-week wait, the Republican named his running mate, Dick Cheney, as head of his presidential transition team, and Andrew Card, a former US transportation secretary, as White House chief of staff.
Bush also returned to the issues he and Gore debated throughout the campaign, saying he wanted to build a bipartisan consensus to improve public education, give senior citizens better health coverage, overhaul Social Security and Medicare, rebuild the military, and cut federal income taxes.
The outline of his administration and his political priorities was part of a deliberate plan to cast Florida's vote certification as the long-awaited stamp of approval on a Bush presidency.
Bush also hoped to create momentum that would force Gore to concede, a point he made plainly.
''This has been a hard-fought election,'' said the Texas governor, flanked by two American flags as he spoke from the State Capitol. ''But now that the votes are counted, it is time for the votes to count. The vice president's lawyers have indicated he will challenge the certified election results. I respectfully ask him to reconsider.''
Gore campaign aides said the vice president would reject the offer. That point was telegraphed by Democratic vice presidential nominee Joseph I. Lieberman just moments after Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris and the two other members of Florida's election canvassing board signed five duplicate copies of their state returns.
Speaking across from the White House at Washington's Hay-Adams Hotel, Lieberman said, ''It is in our nation's interest that the winner in Florida is truly the person who got the most votes.''
Lieberman, also flanked by two American flags, added, ''As we have said all along, we do not know who will prevail after a full and fair count of every legally cast ballot. But the integrity of our self-government is too important to cast into doubt because votes that have been counted, or others that have not yet been counted and clearly should be, have unjustifiably been cast aside,'' Lieberman said.
Aides said the vice president also planned an address to the nation today to elaborate on the views expressed by his running mate.
A major concern for the campaign was that fellow Democrats might pressure Gore to drop his challenge for fear that continuing it might undercut the party's credibility, and possibly jeopardize hopes for recapturing the Congress in 2002.
But Senate minority leader Thomas A. Daschle, the top Democrat in the Senate, said on NBC's ''Meet the Press,'' ''I've talked with most of my colleagues over the last several days and there isn't any interest in conceding anything at this point.''
He and House minority leader Richard A. Gephardt were headed to Florida today in a stand of unity with the vice president.
The announcement of the Florida results triggered cheers from a crowd outside the governor's mansion. As Bush worked inside to finish his remarks, his representative in Florida, former secretary of state James A. Baker III, said he considered the certification the final act of this election.
''Ladies and gentlemen, at some point, at some point, there must be closure,'' Baker said at a news conference in Tallahassee.
''At some point, the law must prevail and the lawyers must go home. We have reached that point.''
Reprising a familiar line since Bush and Gore virtually tied in Florida on Election Day, denying each the state's 25 electoral votes and thus the 270 Electoral College votes needed to become president, Baker said count after count had shown Bush to be the victor.
He called on Democrats to drop legal challenges to the certification that they plan to file today.
Before the certification, both candidates largely stayed out of public view.
The only time Bush left the governor's mansion before his address was for the 9:30 a.m. service at Tarrytown United Methodist Church. There, he heard Pastor James L. Mayfield say in prayer, ''We are especially concerned with our nation. We
ask God's guidance and comfort and grace be with both candidates and their families as they go through this time of stress in this difficult time for our nation.''
Gore, meanwhile, also remained indoors most of the day at his official residence, on the grounds of the US Naval Observa
tory.
His one journey out was also for church. Gore attended services with his with wife, Tipper, and daughter Kristin at Mount Vernon Baptist Church in Arlington, Va. The vice president made only one comment as he entered the church: ''Good morning.''
