Of course, Obama has to be made to look bad right off the bat. Need to knock him out of the race as best you can:

"Look, when my parents got married in 1960, '61, it would have been illegal for them to be married in a number of states in the South. So obviously this is something that I understand intimately," he said. "But ... if I were advising the civil rights movement back in 1961 ... I would have probably said it's less important than we focus on an anti-miscegenation law than we focus on a voting rights law, a non-discrimination employment law and all the legal rights that are conferred by the state."

I'm frustrated by the lack of support, but I have to admit this is a savvy answer. It does not sound like floundering to me, it sounds like a good equivalent to an earlier civil rights movement. While the issue of whether his parents would have accepted or been offended by such a message (“can you hold off on being married for an undefinable period of time until we work on other things?”), I can’t help but think the point is, intellectually, well-taken. Why should this response be so heavily discounted?

Clinton’s hot-air response is no surprise, of course. She’s too controlled, and too content-free, to have responded otherwise. Yet the article barely notes her, though as a major candidate who gets a lot of coverage, an considered analysis of how she handles this issue would seem called for. Nope.

I get a perverse kick out of Edwards’s baffling “I can totally see why you’re angry and the situation is wrong” comment that, nonetheless, did not lead to his making any change in his anti-gay marriage policy. He’s his own political satirist, it seems. And Salon probably loves this, as they can enjoy his antics and cover them without displacing Hillary in its heart.

But what’s with this editorial comment?

"At first he seemed to be the most forthright of the group, saying his opposition to same-sex marriage is because it is not "achievable" politically, while civil unions are. But, when Solmonese asked what he would do if presented with a same-sex marriage bill by the N.M. Legislature, Richardson's position fell apart. Richardson was forced, after a non-answer and a follow-up, to all but concede that one of the places support for same-sex marriage is not yet achievable is in his own heart.

This is based on his statement that being gay “is a choice.” There are certainly many gays who believe just this, indeed a political movement based on the idea that it is a choice (as opposed to an uncontrollable situation, which leads to a victim mentality). And, of course, one could also point out the difference between being homosexual, which may or may not be a choice, and being gay, which clearly is a conscious act.

And how about this editorial spin:

"But Gravel stepped on the goodwill he created a little too often

Exactly how does one create goodwill “too often”? Didn’t know one only wanted it in small doses.

We get the message: vaguely note Hillary's faults but vote for her. Ignore all other voices.

A bald head is pretty in right now. If he shaves his head entirely, he'll look hip, which means young.

Got to admit, I would find this predicament a little silly, if it was solely related to what Cary and readers seem to be emphasizing. That is, not the balding issue, but the "I'm in my late twenties and youth is going" issue, which seems to be the focus of everyone's response. As someone in his late thirties, still youthful, I find anxiety over this a little extreme. Fact is, he's still a kid.

But it's worth noting that there were other, more serious concerns, and it may not be that he's just angsting over age. LW first cites "family problems" and "stress from his research." Is the fear of losing youth and the reality of losing hair a by-product of those issues? He's working hard, he's obviously got some serious issue(s?) with his family. Heavy stress on both professional and personal levels.

I'd suggest a vacation, or just a willingness to take a break. Even if it seems "impossible." Make the time. Breathe. Enjoy. Learn that there is life outside of these circumstances. I think this is really important. He sounds wound up about a lot of issues. They make him feel tired, wasted, burt out: old. The balding is an outward manifestation. He needs a release from all this, and a time to just enjoy himself. To be young, really. Which he still is.