I've been shuttling between Washington DC and Boston a lot this summer and have been joined on my travels twice by leading lights of the US Senate - Joe Lieberman and Ted Kennedy. The difference between the two? Lieberman flew first-class while Kennedy took an aisle seat in an exit row in coach (alright - so I'm not sure how comfortable I was entrusting my safety to him in case of an emergency.....). And within 30 minutes of landing at Reagan National Kennedy took the Senate floor to fight against William Pryor's judicial nomination; Lieberman, met by a state trooper on arrival at Logan Airport, was heading to a New Hampshire fundraiser.

The latest right-wing screed against gay marriage and in support of a constitutional amendment to outlaw same comes direct from the Senate Republicans. Notice how their central arguments against gay marriage seem to flow from the consequences of gay divorce - specifically as it would affect child support and the division of property. So the assertion isn't that recognizing loving same-sex relationship is the problem, but rather the (presumed) likelihood that such unions will fail. Could this be more evidence that the greater threat to marriage is not gay marriage but the way divorce laws have evolved in the past three decades? Strange how the focus is on marriage as a legal institution, not a "sacrament," which is a positive development as far as the separation of church and state.

David Brooks is probably the most insightful social analyst writing today, not to mention one of the hardest working - how many jobs does this guy have (The News Hour, Atlantic Monthly, Weekly Standard, NYT Magazine)? His new place on the NYT op-ed page may be a sign that the paper is finally back on track. Now if they'd only dump that gas-bag Krugman....