Once again, the rules don't apply to George W. Bush

And once again, the Democrats shrug their shoulders and cave:

After the Florida election fiasco of 2000, the most obscure parts of state election law keep attracting attention.



The latest effort to disqualify Ralph Nader as a presidential candidate in Florida has led to renewed scrutiny of papers filed by other candidates - including President Bush.



State law sets a Sept. 1 deadline for the governor to certify a list of presidential electors for each party's candidates.



But Sept. 1 was also the day President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney were being nominated at their party' convention in New York. Consequently, some of their paperwork did not arrive at state elections headquarters until Sept. 2, a day after Gov. Jeb Bush certified the candidates for president.



Paperwork problem?



No, says Secretary of State Glenda Hood's office.



Spokeswoman Jenny Nash said Friday the law is clear: The deadline applies to the governor and the list of presidential electors, not to the candidates themselves. The list of Republican electors released by Hood's office does not show a time stamp indicating when the document was received by the state.



Democrats said they aren't so sure, but they won't challenge the Bush campaign's papers.



Florida Democratic Party chairman Scott Maddox said he knew the president's certificate of nomination did not reach the state until Sept. 2, but he said he decided not to make an issue of it.



"To keep an incumbent president off the ballot in a swing state the size of Florida because of a technicality, I just don't think would be right," Maddox said.

I don't know why this stuff even surprises me anymore.