Trust No One in Politics

Democrats Debate in California: "Democratic presidential rivals John Kerry and John Edwards voiced opposition to gay marriage on Thursday, but said the issue should be left to the states rather than banned by a constitutional amendment as recommended by President Bush.

On the day that celebrity Rosie O'Donnell was married to her longtime girlfriend, Kerry and Edwards both sharply criticized Bush for his request to Congress to amend the Constitution."

Actually, I link to this mostly so you can all go check out the picture and see how John Kerry and John Edwards so clearly love each other. Must be a John thing.

Perhaps they should get married. Oh wait -- they oppose gay marriage. But they also oppose Bush's no-gay-marriage amendment, so maybe it's not a problem. But they think it should be "left to the states," so maybe it is. But then, John Kerry is from Massachusetts, where gay marriage will be legal in May, so maybe wedding bells should ring after all.

Why can't we get some Democrats running for president who have some backbone? What kind of race is this, with the two major candidates left running not on issues or character but on which one can beat Bush? Let me tell you, if "ability to beat Bush" is the only thing one of these guys is chosen on, neither is going to be able to beat Bush. Saying "I can beat you!" in a debate with Bush isn't going to be all that impressive.

And it'd be nice, too, if there was some candidate out there who could end the factionalism among the Democrats so that a liberal president could actually win. Personally, I thought that candidate was Bush 2004, but I'm beginning to think that fervor has died, much to my disappointment, as I consider Bush a threat to the world (and that includes America) safety.

And by the way, congratulations to Rosie and her girlfriend on tying the knot in San Francisco. To those who oppose gay marriage but not civil unions, it's not just a matter of semantics. It's linguistic discrimination and it's much like "separate but equal" -- separate is inherently unequal. Plus this country is messed up in thinking of marriage only in Christian terms. And actually, oddly enough, they seem to think of it more specifically in Catholic terms, since marriage isn't a sacrament in Protestant denominations.

Imagine how scandalized Americans would be if they knew more about Muslim marriage, which is by contract and so essentially marries people via what Americans call a pre-nuptial agreement.