ASHINGTON - The first measurable sign that Americans are losing their appetite for the protracted presidential contest came Sunday in an overnight poll when 60 percent of those surveyed said Al Gore should concede the election and the White House to George W. Bush.
The ABC News/Washington Post survey of 607 adults was taken shortly after Secretary of State Katherine Harris of Florida certified that Bush had won the state's 25 electoral votes and even as Bush was on TV urging Gore not to challenge the Florida tally.
But pollsters, impressed by the patience that Americans have displayed in the past three weeks, said they wanted more data to confirm a shift in the public mood.
''I think people are tired of the election, but not sick and tired,'' said pollster John Zogby, who did not conduct the ABC News survey. ''It's still holding their interest, more than the campaign ever did.
''Americans want it settled, but they aren't at the stage yet of saying, `Oh my God, this is too much,''' Zogby said.
Still, sensitive to the slightest shift in public sentiment, Vice President Gore and his surrogates aggressively tried to make the case yesterday that the election can't end until Florida's ballots have been counted fully and fairly. In a five-minute, prime-time address to the nation last night, Gore said, ''Ignoring votes is ignoring democracy itself.
''I believe our Constitution matters more than convenience,'' Gore said, giving no hint when his legal challenges would end.
Of all the unexpected developments in the three weeks since the presidential election, none has surprised pollsters more than the American public's patience with the wait for a winner. Explanations range from ''a pox on both your houses'' - that is, voters weren't sufficiently passionate about either candidate to care who won - to the psychology of a sports-crazed public that demands fair play and good referees.
''Any country that has an instant replay in football should also have a recount in politics,'' said Alan Wolfe, a sociologist who directs the Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life at Boston College. ''Americans understand that mistakes are human, and you have to correct them.''
By refusing to allow Palm Beach County extra time to finish its hand count Sunday night, Harris raised questions about the accuracy of her certification, Wolfe said. In the ABC News poll, 27 percent of the respondents said they were ''very confident'' of the accuracy of the Florida vote count, 56 percent had ''some confidence,'' and 21 percent said they were not confident at all.
A week ago, polls showed the public was almost equally divided on the question of ending the Florida recounts, and 8 of 10 respondents said they could accept either candidate as the legitimate winner of the presidential race. Sunday's poll numbers showed the nation still evenly divided in its presidential preference - 43 percent for Bush, 42 percent for Gore - but for the first time, there were signs of public fatigue with the process.
Only 35 percent of those surveyed said Gore should pursue legal challenges, and even among Gore supporters, 26 percent thought it was time that he gave up the fight.
Andrew Kohut, director of the Pew Research Center, said Gore's address to the nation last night was a critical attempt in reshaping public opinion that was drifting to Bush as the presumptive winner.
''Gore has to make the case that he still needs a judgment from the Florida court that the votes were counted fairly and comprehensively,'' Kohut said. ''He also has to give people a sense that this will not go on endlessly, so they know exactly how far he is going to push it.''
What has kept the public from getting agitated, Wolfe said, is its faith that the legal system will provide a fair, nonpartisan resolution of the disputed election results, and that there is a president in place until Jan. 20. ''They know the ship of state will sail,'' Wolfe said.
The ABC News poll showed 58 percent of the respondents approve of the US Supreme Court hearing the recount case, which will be argued Friday. But 59 percent said they would oppose any move by the Florida Legislature to get involved. The poll's margin of error was 4 percent.
Wolfe says the fact that many voters never warmed up much to Gore or Bush, and stayed undecided for so long, made it easier for them to be patient.
''Whatever happens, they still have the college tuition bills to pay and their retirement accounts to worry about,'' he said.
