In an editorial published today the paper reacts to the increasingly vocal support for gay marriage in the president's cabinet. It notes that Joe Biden and Arne Duncan recently came out in favour of gay marriage and says, "That made it even harder to figure out what Mr.Obama and his political handlers think is gained by the president's hedging"

              My colleague summed up the perils of an endorsement by Mr Obama. "Whatever the moral valence of the issue was before the president speaks, it shifts dramatically along partisan axes as soon as he takes a position, "he wrote. In other words , were Mr Obama to embrace gay marriage, he might animate the opposition and retard progress towards greater acceptance . That is one argument, anyway. While Gallup reports more good news in its latest poll on the issue , public support has slipped after spikes in the past.

             The interesting thing about the current debate over Mr Obama's position is that a good number of his supporters (though certainly not all ) are comfortable with his hedge. Browsing the popular comments on another Times piece, i was struck by the amount of patience most readers showed with Mr Obama's caginess. They are confident that his motivations are noble, and believe that his support for gay marriage is real if not vocalised. So they are willing to wait for his second term, which they think will be more attainable if he is allowed to stay his hand.

             This implicit trust in Mr Obama's core beliefs is an advantage the president has over Mitt Romney, whose principles are so opaque that he has had to make over-the-top pronouncements on issues that he might rather avoid. Mr Romney cannot hedge bacause he has already evolved too many times, on too many issues, in ways that are too convenient. Whereas a more reliably conservative candidate could dodge an issue like gay marriage, Mr Romney must not, lest he sow doubt in his conservative base. So the lesson for you young aspiring politicians out there is that having some principles is a good thing because it allows you to be a little less principled when it's politically advantageous.