[ Between a Cock and a Hard Place ]

The Defense of Marriage act is getting shut down in courts all over the country. Judges are starting to demand that gay spouses of government employees receive the same benefits as their straight counterparts. But. There are administrators who are ordering their departments not to enforce the new ruling, because it conflicts with other anti-gay laws on the books.

These competing interests are going to put Obama in a very tough spot. Can he afford to promote equality for gays even though it will, no doubt, cost him political capital? I hope so.

But. All things being equal, I would favor him keeping nationalized health care and a green energy policy at the top of the list. The gays can wait... at least a little longer. This is, of course, assuming that you can't have one without the other.

Maybe Obama can do it all.