John D.S. Allen: “But what Benedict has been trying to tell the American public and the American church this week, is that maybe it's…”

It's all about leadership, Anderson. Any reform is about leadership.

It has got to be about the future, bringing our people together and resolving these issues of inequality.

These conversations are remarkably frank. This is not attack-ad politics, but they are extraordinarily conscious of how much hinges on this decision.

There's no clear front runner for the papacy. The last thing these 115 cardinals who are going to cast votes want is to go into the Sistine chapel and become deadlocked and have to stay there for three or four days.