Give 'em the ol' Razzle Dazzle

"long as you keep 'em way off balance
how can they spot you got no talents..."

Oh, it's a moot point by now of course; still, I thought this particular tap-dance should be preserved for posterity. He's not very good at this, is he? Still, the overhanging brow adds a certain gravitas, it must be said.


"Snow Compares Gay Marriage Ban With 'Civil Rights Legislation'"

Q You mentioned civil rights. Are you comparing this to various civil
rights measures which have come to the Congress over the years?

MR. SNOW: Not -- well, these -- it --

Q Is this a civil right?

MR. SNOW: Marriage? It actually -- what we're really talking about here is
an attempt to try to maintain the traditional meaning of an institution
that has maintained one meeting for -- meaning for a period of centuries.
And furthermore --

Q And you would equate that with civil rights?

MR. SNOW: No, I'm just saying that I think -- well, I don't know. How do
you define civil rights?

Q It's not up to me. Up to you.

MR. SNOW: Okay. Well, no, it's your question. So I -- if I --

Q (Chuckles.)

MR. SNOW: I need to get a more precise definition.

Q Can you stand there and say with a straight face that there is not a
political dimension to this?

MR. SNOW: Of course there's a political dimension to it. There's going to
be a Senate vote on it, for heaven sakes. You have -- there's naturally --
there are political dimensions on both sides.

It's -- this is an issue -- and we talked about this this morning -- that
I think is of keen interest to a lot of people. And one of the interesting
aspects is that there -- it's still -- the amendment still permits states
to consider arrangements and institutions for same-sex couples that would
not be called marriage. But the president feels strongly that marriage as
an institution has a fixed means that ought to be honored in American law.

...Q What has changed about the potential legal challenge since January of
last year that makes this riper?

MR. SNOW: Again, there -- you're going to have to ask --

Q (Off mike.)

MR. SNOW: You're going to have to ask the people who brought it up for a
vote in the Senate.

Q The Republican leadership works in concert with the White House, as you
know.

MR. SNOW: Yeah, but I'm not aware that the White House had any particular
hand in scheduling this. But you know what? I'll check it out, because I
don't have the answer to --

...Q More than 8,000 same-sex couples have been married in Massachusetts.
What threat do they pose? And what's the president's --

MR. SNOW: They don't -- this is not in response to a threat. This is
merely a matter of trying to clarify what marriage ought to mean under the
law. As you know, the people of Massachusetts, also by referendum, defined
marriage as being between a man and a woman, and the Supreme Judicial
Court decided to throw it out. And it remains a matter of contention.

I don't think people look at this as a threat. It is trying to clarify
what is an important and contentious cultural and legal issue.

Q With this -- and let me just follow up.

MR. SNOW: Yeah.

Q With this to become a constitutional amendment, what legally then
happens to those 8,000-plus same-sex couples? Are their marriages
annulled?

MR. SNOW: That would have to require keener legal expertise than mine. I
don't want to try to --

Q The president doesn't know what would happen?

MR. SNOW: No, the press secretary doesn't know. (Laughter.)

Q You mentioned the president was actually concerned about other issues
besides this one.

...

Q Tony, I just wanted -- on gay marriage again. You are almost portraying
the president as being a passive participant in this; that the Senate is
acting, so he's speaking out.

MR. SNOW: Right.

Q In the gaggle, you suggested the media is over-hyping this issue.

MR. SNOW: Yeah.

Q Conservatives, like Tony Perkins, are saying it was the president who
brought this up a lot during the 2004 campaign. Wasn't he hyping it then?
Why is the president being so passive?

MR. SNOW: I'm not going to characterize -- I don't think it's passive.
Again, the president has made clear what his views are. But, you know,
this is one where I -- I'm trying to figure out exactly how one decides
when one is active and one is passive.

Confidential to Mr. Snow: you look at which pocket the President's keys and/or hanky is in; and then you look at the Senate's pockets.