Its not a pleasurable thing to be a wedge issue in and of yourself, take my word for it. In this diary I am going to attempt to first give some analysis of why this was such a prominent subject in this debate before I dive into how I think the candidates did on the issue.
This was a stacked debate. This should come as no surprise to anyone, with Faux News calling the shots. The identities of the those chosen to ask the questions bear this out. Jennings is a republican, but at least made some effort to maintain decorum until his Michael Moore question. The Union Leader is a far-right rag, despite the misleading name, and their hack was the most ideologically motivated of the group. The local man was preening for his local audience and far out of his league. As he stumbled I had the feeling he was changing the ideological slant of many of his questions to keep up with his compatriots at the table. Brit Hume needs no explanation from one such as I.
It is sad and personally infuriating that ideological slant of the panel is the reason these issues finally got aired. The republicans realize they cannot win this one with Bush's economic track record. They used this as a chance to pin down the candidates to positions on a variety of political "third-rails". I warned early on that the republicans were gearing up for a culture war. As much as the focus must remain on economic issues that are at the core of this election the democrats have got to come up with viable responses to these type of questions. I hate being used as a political football..
Dean was the first to bring up the issue, without even being asked. I applaud him for recognizing that it his position is unpopular, and further applaud him for pledging to stand by that position. He may be somewhat deluded to think that the American people want someone who speaks his mind. Oh well....deluding yourself as well as other people is a large part of modern politics, as Bush has shown us.
Edwards did not comport himself well on the DOMA question. Sharpton was right to take him to task on the issue of "states rights". As a person of color, he is aware of the legacy of Jim Crow more acutely then any of the other candidates. Although DOMA is not on the level of oppression that Jim Crow was there is a strong and historically valid argument to be made that civil rights issues should not be the province of the states. Edwards should have been cognizant with the legislation he was talking about. It may have been before his time in the Senate, but it was a landmark piece of legislation for a key democratic constituency. He would have done well to at least know the specifics of its content and implementation.
I am not close to Edwards ideologically. However, the thought of Kerry as nominee scares me. He has very little pull outside the democratic base. Though I don't plan to vote for him, I think Edwards MAY be the best candidate to run in the general election. More amateur mistakes like this and I will start giving more credence to the cries of "empty suit" and "inexperience"
This may surprise some people, but I am actually glad that Edwards dodged the second question on the issue. Some people are giving him saurus for dodging the question but I actually appreciate him starting the movement to get all the candidates to hijack the debate for their platforms rather the RNC talking points. Economic issues, front and center. Personally, I dig his soundbite about or "moral responsibility" to those in poverty. Frankly, gay marriage is a non-issue to me personally. Im not one much for monogamy or hetronormativity. However, I know some people to whom this is a quite important issue. Travel to Montreal some time and meet the community of queer American ex-pats, forced to relocate because their relationships are not valid to gain their foreign lovers green cards.
Now, if any of the candidates really want to step out a limb, they should take a position on gay adoption. People seem increasingly at home with letting queers be all queer with each other. Letting them be queer in the same house with children is something else.