A bitterly polarized U.S. Supreme Court effectively ended the presidential hopes of Al Gore '69 last night, reversing a Florida Supreme Court decision to continue recounting votes and drawing to a close the historic legal struggle five weeks after election day.

George W. Bush, the would-be president-elect, had no immediate comment. But former Secretary of State James A. Baker III, representing Bush, said the Texas governor and his running mate Dick Cheney were "very pleased and gratified" with the court's ruling." He stopped short of calling on the vice president to concede, though several prominent Democrats, including the chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), publicly advised Gore to end his campaign.

Gore's campaign chair, William Daley, later issued a statement saying Gore and Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman will instead take time to review the court's words and "will address the court's decision in full detail at a time to be determined" today.

After deliberating throughout the day and into the night, the court delivered a highly complex, multi-part, 65-page decision a little after 10 p.m.

By a 7-2 vote, with justices John Paul Stevens and Ruth Bader Ginsburg dissenting, the court held per curiam that "there are constitutional problems" with the Florida Supreme Court's decision. By a 5-4 vote, the court ruled that, in effect, there was nothing more the Florida court could do to fairly recount the state's ballots without disrupting the electoral process.

"It is obvious that the recount cannot be conducted in compliance with the requirements of equal protection and due process without substantial additional work," the justices' 5-4 opinion said.

"Because it is evident that any recount seeking to meet the December 12 date will be unconstitutional...we reverse the judgment of the Supreme Court of Florida ordering a recount to proceed," the justices added.

The majority opinion held that Dec. 12 marked the end of the federal "safe harbor" period, when slates of electors could be certified without the threat of Congressional challenge.