Tuesday evening, leading Democrats broke out in public conflict over whether Gore should concede the race. In response to a question from MSNBC's Chris Matthews about whether Gore should concede or try to fight on by "raiding" GOP electors, the general chairman of the Democratic Party, Ed Rendell, said, "He should act now and concede." Sen. Robert Torricelli, D-N.J., also called on Gore to concede. Spokesmen for Rendell quickly insisted that Rendell was speaking only for himself and not in his official capacity. Democratic National Committee chairman Joe Andrew blasted Rendell's statement as unauthorized and outrageous. Later, on ABC, Rendell claimed he had been quoted out of context.

Gore attorney Laurence Tribe was also quoted saying that "it's over," on NBC. But while CNN reported Tribe had urged Gore to concede, he later insisted he hadn't, squabbling with interviewers over exactly what he'd said.

The initial reactions among pundits -- after they had waded through the 60-plus page opinion -- were swift. "It's over," said George Stephanopoulos on ABC. NBC's Tim Russert also struck a note of finality, declaiming that the country needed to respect the Supreme Court's decision and rally around the new president. Chris Matthews described members of the Gore camp who wanted to fight on as "mad dogs." The National Journal's Stuart Taylor, when asked if Gore might fight on, said that since Gore had already been the first presidential candidate to contest an election, he might also be the first to defy a Supreme Court order. He immediately corrected himself to say that it was not actually an order, but that if Gore continued to fight he would be "thumbing his nose" at the court.

Later, however, other analysts discerned that the ruling left Gore with the tiniest of legal hopes.

Gore campaign chairman William Daley said the vice president, who was with his family, wouldn't comment on the decision until Wednesday. "Al Gore and Joe Lieberman are now reviewing the decision issued tonight by the U.S. Supreme Court," Daley said in a written statement, adding that the ruling's complexity required that they hold off on an official response until Wednesday.

That response now is likely to be a concession, ending the most extraordinary struggle over a presidential election in this century.

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