Predictably, both Clinton and Obama have distanced themselves from Thursday's ruling in favor of gay marriage. Meanwhile, more than a few Democrats are wondering aloud if we might not be up for a repeat of 2004, when (so the widely disputed theory goes) Gavin Newsom's spectacular gay-marriage stunt might've hurt John Kerry's chances at the Presidency.

But this isn't 2004. We have a comically weakened GOP, an uninspiring nominee in John McCain, and an aggressively unpopular President whose fan base excludes all but the willfully delusional.

One thing struck me, though, as I watched Gavin Newsom's speech after Thursday's ruling: in another 20 years or so, this guy will be widely regarded as a visionary. (Just look at the converts he's made in the last four years.) Far from destroying his national political hopes back in 2004, he might've enhanced his long-term political capital as the go-to guy for guy-on-guy civil rights. 

So for now, Obama and Clinton will need to pretend like they're moderates in order to keep Bill O'Reilly at bay. But I predict that in a matter of one or two decades, only the most clueless Republicans will openly attack gay marriage as an affront to civilization. Progress is inevitable. In fact, it's already happening. And even though I'd really like Newsom to get a haircut and use less product, and even though I find him just the slightest bit smarmy, I gotta admit that, if only for today, I'm harboring a bit of a crush on him.

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