The New Republic Online has published my oped on the papal election (free registration required). It begins:

In the upcoming papal election, as in all elections, the rules of the game help determine the winner. And recent changes in those rules instituted by Pope John Paul II make it more likely that the next Pope will not be a consensus candidate who could bridge chasms among the world’s Catholics. That’s because the new rules provide for a “nuclear option” much like the one being considered in the U.S. Senate to break Democratic resistance to President Bush’s judicial nominees.