Could gay marriage in Massachusetts hurt a John Kerry candidacy? Yeah, I suppose -- but I don't think harm is inevitable.

Gay people will legally be allowed to marry in Massachusetts starting May 17. For a few days, the press will prowl the Bay State, desperate for the perfect, unrepresentative photo of sodomite matrimonial makeup excess.

And then it'll be over, and we'll all move on to the next celebrity felony or orange alert.

Don't believe me? Notice the complete evaporation of the "Saddam bounce" in Bush's approval ratings in the latest Gallup poll. We have no memory for news in this country. (Turkey? Did Bush serve turkey somewhere on Thanksgiving?)

Oh, sure -- the Bushies will try to make the campaign all gay marriage, all the time, especially in the South and Midwest. But all Kerry has to do is hone a response -- and he's had months to prepare. The Bushies will be refighting the family's last war against a "Massachusetts liberal," and they'll expect Kerry to be as passive as Dukakis. And it's almost biochemically impossible for any other human being to be as passive as Dukakis was.