Two Quick Political Thoughts

1) A number of Very Serious People (VSP) on the tv-machine are saying words to the effect of "Catholics won't vote for Obama because he mandated that Catholic hospitals pay for contraceptives." Well, actually no - Roughly 6-in-10 Catholics (58%) believe that employers should be required to provide their employees with health care plans that cover contraception. American Catholics have spent a long time sitting in pews listening to celibate men tell them how to manage their sex lives. These Catholics nod, put a few bucks in the collection plate and then go do whatever they think is appropriate, which usually involves doing stuff other then what the priest told them.

2) In California, the federal appeals court ruled that the California's ban on gay marriage is unconstitutional. I expect to shortly hear from those same VSPs as to how this will be bad for Obama. Except that, since the ruling is limited to California, where gay marriage is relatively popular, I think not so much.