While Martha Raddatz was masterful last night actually moderating a genuine and thoughtful debate between Joe Biden and Paul Ryan, she failed to pose a key question to the contenders: What is your view on same-sex marriage?
Some will say, well, there are a long list of issues she had to get in the mix — Afghanistan, the Libya debacle, abortion a few times, the economy, Medicare — and that is true. But the issue of gay marriage is one that matters in this election, and it was not mentioned at all in either the first presidential debate or the standoff between Biden and Ryan.
Biden was the person who kicked open the door on this subject in this election by stating he was “absolutely comfortable” with same-sex marriages. For a couple of days at least, the public divide between Obama and Biden was wider than on any other issue since they had been in office — a greater chasm between them than on Afghanistan policy where their differences were known but sewn together as a process leading to a conclusion everyone supported.
