Obama on Spot?

"Obama on Spot Over a Benefit to Gay Couples"

That's the headline of an article in the NY Times today. The story basically breaks down like this: On the one side, a federal judge in California has said that the same-sex partners of the federal employees of that court are due the same medical benefits as a heterosexual spouse. On the other side the administration and the Defense of Marriage Act.

The article says that this has put Obama in a spot, because if he ignores the court then he risks appearing to renege on his campaign promises to the gay/lesbian community. And if he follows the court's order then he risks alienating the Republicans with whom he's trying to work on other issues.

A "spot"? Who talks like that?

But more seriously, this seems like a no-brainer to me. The republican side of the gay-marriage act has been consistent in saying that they're not opposed to homosexuality, they just think that marriage is between a man and a woman. This seems like a cut-and-dry case of giving gay partners the same rights as straights without using the super-special M word.

If Republicans are offended by this is just proves that their agenda is not protecting marriage it's treating gays and lesbians as second-class citizens. (Plus, you know, the court ordered the federal government to do it.)