Comedy Central's Mo Rocca and Vance DeGeneres on the aftermath of Election 2000
December 14, 2000
2 p.m. EST 
(CNN) -- President-elect George W. Bush's transition team kicked into high gear Thursday, December 14 as it received the keys to the official transition office in Washington, signifying that the presidential election was over and the transfer of power has begun.

Mo Rocca and Vance DeGeneres are correspondents on Comedy Central’s "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" and its Indecision 2000 political satire of the election. They joined the chat to offer their unique perspective.

Chat Moderator: Thank you for joining us today, Mo Rocca and Vance DeGeneres, and welcome.

Vance DeGeneres: Thanks for having us back! It's always a pleasure! We don't have to dress up for this…although we DO, of course.

Mo Rocca: Happy Election Deadlock Resolution Day!

Chat Moderator: What are your thoughts on the speeches given by Vice President Gore and President-elect Bush last night?

Mo Rocca: As my mother used to say to me and my brother, "Girls, girls, you're BOTH beautiful!"

Vance DeGeneres: I'm not exactly sure what you mean by that. And I think the American people stand behind me in that.

Mo Rocca: The American people are patient. They'll wait for me to work through it.

Vance DeGeneres: As we have learned, we'll only wait five weeks and not a day more. In his speech last night, Gore, for the first time, honored Bush with the title of "president-elect," which is eerily close to the nickname he uses for Clinton, "president-erect." True story.

Question from Foreigner: Mo Rocca, are we heading for a recession under a Bush administration?

Vance DeGeneres: I think the only recession that we're heading for is the obvious recession of Bush's hairline.

Mo Rocca: No.

Question from More: Facial expressions alone on both these guys must be a goldmine. What are some of the things you look for when you analyze these guys? Do you have a particular audience in mind or do you just look for anything that may get a laugh?

Mo Rocca: The mother lode is Bush's eyebrows. A five-act drama could be played out just within that one feature. Unfortunately at this point, the only mood seems to be "furrowed confusion."

Vance DeGeneres: Although with practice with an appropriate eyebrow tutor, hopefully within a matter of months he can learn to use those eyebrows to strengthen America's resolve and power across the world.

Mo Rocca: I also suspect that he's been doing a little tweezing to preclude the dreaded "unibrow." This, ironically, makes him a divider, NOT a uniter.

Vance DeGeneres: In fact, he learned his lesson when the unibrow cost him his very first run at public office in Texas, years ago. Bush was photographed the other day wearing a cowboy hat and carrying a broken tennis racket. He's carefully forging a new presidential image. The cowboy hat should appeal to the average American citizen, especially the ones who wear cowboy hats, and the tennis racket should appeal to the Washington Beltway country club set. Bush hopes these two devices will help heal the country.

Mo Rocca: I like Cheney's mouth.

Question from Holdingmybreath: Isn't it better for comedians that Bush will be the president?

Vance DeGeneres: Yes, it's certainly better that Bush is president in terms of pure comedy gold. However, I think that a number of people in our profession would have settled for comedy silver from Gore.

Mo Rocca: I think we'll be fine. However, I have always thought that Gore's personality shape shifting was a delicious, albeit more challenging, target. But I'm in the minority, and not just because I use the word "albeit" in casual conversation.

Question from Holdingmybreath: Is there anything "taboo" about the president-elect that you cannot make fun of?

Vance DeGeneres: Yes. Honestly, I feel there is a line, although that line seems to be moving further and further away. I think when you're in comedy dealing with the president, you have to remember that he does represent our country and you have to leave him with a shred of dignity. But a lot of times they make it way too tempting and easy.

Mo Rocca: Respect is the watchword. That's why nobody should touch the whole Midland hustling ring story from the late seventies. Leave it alone, guys.

Chat Moderator: What are you going to do with the your lives now that it is over?

Vance DeGeneres: As we're speaking, the movers are hauling boxes of files out of our office. We have -- as we can see it now -- very, very little future here. The show will go on at night, as always, but it will be a mere husk of its former self during Indecision 2000. Or, it will be much better. I just don't know.

Mo Rocca: If you enjoy staring at color bars from 11-11:30 nightly, then tune right in.

Vance DeGeneres: But I assure you they'll be the smartest, funniest color bars on cable TV. I have a comment. It was reported in the paper today that the Reverend Mark Craig of a Dallas Methodist Church compared Bush to Moses, saying, "You were chosen by God, as was Moses, to lead the people." To which Bush responded with an ungracious, "In your face, Lieberman!"

Mo Rocca: Moses, in fact, could not speak. Does that make Cheney Aaron? That's not funny. It's just something to ponder.

Vance DeGeneres: While we're on the subject of religion, George W. and Laura attended church services this morning. Country and western star Larry Gatlin sang a song about healing and reaching out to our brother, but most of it was drowned out by the president-elect's cries of "Yee-haw!" as he rode the Texas church's mechanical bull.

Question from Victoriaa47: Would you both please address the race issue and the actions of Jesse Jackson and if this is something we should worry about?

Mo Rocca: Condoleeza Rice knows the second verse to the national anthem. I don't know any public official that knows the second verse to the National Anthem. She's going to be a great role model.

Vance DeGeneres: I think it's fine for Reverend Jackson to lead protests against what happened during the voting process on Election Day. But I also think we should really heed the message in both speeches last night by Gore and Bush. And we do need to figure out a way to bridge the gap that does certainly exist between the races.

Mo Rocca: I'll be serious here for a second. I'm not sure what Bill Clinton ever did for Jesse Jackson, but President-elect Bush is about to appoint two African-Americans to much higher posts than African-Americans have ever been appointed to in our history. It's probably a good thing to focus on the positive.

Chat Moderator: Mo, we noticed you were wearing a bowtie during your coverage last night. Our own Tucker Carlson from the "Spin Room" wears bow ties constantly. Coincidence?

Mo Rocca: I've never met Tucker Carlson but I can tell they're clip-ons.

Question from Foreigner: Is Bush going to be one term like his father ?

Vance DeGeneres: If Bush has his way, this is how it works out. The Bush Millennium Plan: George W. through 2008, Jeb Bush 2008-2016 and George P. Bush 2016-2024. That takes up the first quarter of a century.

Mo Rocca: Sorry, Vance. In 2016, Chelsea will trounce George P.

Chat Moderator: What was your favorite moment from the more than 30 days of the election?

Vance DeGeneres: My favorite moment has to be the over-scrutinized media coverage of the Ryder truck filled with ballots hurtling through the highways into the Florida abyss. It was almost like watching the O.J. slow-speed chase, except it seemed no one really cared that much about catching the truck.

Mo Rocca: The revelatory moment for me was the excruciatingly close-up coverage of Katherine Harris' hands while she was certifying the election results. Her hands, in fact, were quite lovely but her fellow canvasser, Bob Crawford, had a horrible scab on his index finger. I have a tendency to bite my nails and, at that moment, I realized I could never possibly certify a Florida election. Audiences would just be too grossed out. I've now changed my ways based on that experience.

Vance DeGeneres: Speaking of grossed out, I understand that Avon has offered Katherine Harris a multi-year endorsement deal. Also, Bush, apparently right after learning that he was in fact the president-elect, asked his closest advisors, "When is that kegger, I mean inauguration, again?

Question from Tennoheika: What will happen on inauguration day?

Vance DeGeneres: This will be the first time in U.S. history when an American president is sworn in, not by the chief justice, but by Dallas Cowboys’ quarterback Troy Aikman.

Chat Moderator: What should Vice President Gore do next with his life?

Mo Rocca: He should become the president of Harvard. I honestly think he'd love the job and he wouldn't be forced to try to be a "regular guy."

Vance DeGeneres: I personally think that the timing couldn't be better. With both President Clinton and Vice President Gore out of work in the near future, and the distinct possibility of a Hollywood Writer's Guild strike, what could be better than a reality-TV version of the "All-New Odd Couple" starring Clinton and Gore and Ralph Nader as the nosy neighbor.

Chat Moderator: Do you have any final thoughts to share with us today?

Vance DeGeneres: Just a thanks for bearing with "The Daily Show," CNN and all the other media that made you laugh and cry and holler at your TV set and computer. We promise we'll do better the next time this happens in the year 2100.

Chat Moderator: Thank you for joining us today.