But will he scream?

An e-mail:

Ratzinger is the Howard Dean of the conclave… He’s peaked too early. And, more than that, he’s the media darling – though for all the wrong reasons in Ratz’s case… The NYTimes types are frothing at the mouth at the prospect of a “rigid” conservative taking the reins, so they can talk about the Church turning back reformers, taking a hard line against women, birth control, gay rights, etc. They would love to have him be the guy, which I think is why there’s this undercurrent “frontrunner” status that they have been pushing. I’d be willing to bet it isn’t him…and the more black smoke we see, the less chance he has of being the guy. If we make it through tomorrow with all black smoke, we will have had the equivalent of the Dean/New Hampshire squeal, and Ratz’s star will fade completely.