Remember the last time the Republican Party put on a magic show? On December 12, conservative members of the Supreme Court made 69,000 ballots disappear in Florida. But that was amateur night compared to the wizardry of Commerce Secretary Don Evans. At a March press conference witnessed by dozens of reporters, Evans caused 3.3 million Americans to vanish without a trace. How'd he do it? Evans refused to allow the Census Bureau to use the scientific process of …showed first 75 words of 860 total…

…showed last 75 words of 860 total…same way. "Why won't Secretary Evans go the extra mile to ensure that everyone is counted?" Maloney asked. "I guess it is just like Florida, again. The clock has run out on counting people." Where's a magician like David Copperfield when we need him? Wiping out millions was beyond his power, but once he made an elephant vanish. GRAPHIC: Picture, Commerce Secretary Don Evans was the Bush campaign's fundraising wizard. REUTERS LOAD-DATE: March 31, 2001 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ **Bibliography**