News on the Kennedy front

The Supreme Court has requested briefing on the possibility of rehearing Kennedy v. Louisiana; for now, I'm standing by my prediction that they won't rehear it.

Something I'll retreat from, though, is my August 19 suggestion that "it's a mistake to let Obama get the drop on him [in selecting a veep]. [McCain] should choose Sarah Palin, and he should say so now." Obviously that was wrong; it presupposed that Obama was smart enough to pick Clinton or Sebelius, and underestimated both the chances that McCain would choose who I wanted and the effect that the sheer ubridled joy at Palin's selection would have in shaking up the race, destroying Obama's convention bounce. McCain got lucky on Obama's mistake in picking Biden, and once that happened, the effectiveness of announcing August 29th makes the decision look prescient.