Cook, though, didn't have the slightest doubt about how the court would rule. Which is just what happened. Imagine if the electoral positions of George W. Bush and Al Gore had been reversed. Our electoral laws, moreover, seem even more confused today than they did a week ago. Apparently there is a role for the courts in elections untainted by fraud.
Recounts are OK, but only up to a point.
I wouldn't be surprised if half the country now feels the election was stolen. Bush is a likable man, capable of drawing people together, but I worry for him and all of us if Florida's ballots are independently inspected and he turns out to have lost. Think how poisonous the news could be. Future damage might be limited in several ways. But the quickest way to keep a tie from returning as a monster is to fix our badly broken balloting system.