The Bush backers, who numbered about 300 at their peak, rallied in front of the old Capitol, then marched from the shade of large oak trees that look like southern Christmas trees decorated in dangling Spanish moss, into the northeast corner of the plaza.
>From 10 minutes before 1 p.m. until 10 minutes after, the tension rose as
competing shouts and placards ricocheted off one another. For a few minutes
there was a standoff, then Florida Highway Patrol officers calmly led Bush
supporters out the same way they came.
A lone man who said nothing held steady a large sign outside an entrance to the plaza that read, "Sore 2000 Loserman."
"Look at us. Look at them. We're better," said a young Bush supporter as she left the plaza for the front of the old Capitol, where the Bush counter-rally lost steam.