MONDAY’S BIG RECALL NEWS was supposed to be Arnold, Maria, Oprah and a not-so-private chat. That was before another trio grabbed the spotlight–a three-judge panel of the San Francisco-based 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which ordered a postponement of the October 7 election because, in the judges’ view, it’s not fair to ask some Californians to use punch card ballots. The ruling wasn’t a surprise–in fact, the state’s attorneys already had an appeal in the works before the 9th Circuit dropped its bomb and the recall committees had their attorneys on standby. (Although it did lead to one obvious question: If punch cards were an acceptable form of voting in November 2002, why not October 2003?)

What California has for the next week is recall limbo. The 9th Circuit stayed its ruling for seven days to give parties a chance to appeal (California Secretary of State Kevin Shelly will hold a press conference Tuesday afternoon detailing his legal strategy). Presumably, the state will take its case to the U.S. Supreme Court. If the high court turns down the request, then the recall vote will be shelved until California’s March 2 primary. And that’s supposed to benefit Governor Gray Davis, as more Democrats will turn out in that primary to choose their party’s presidential nominee.