Gay Marriage Day

All the action over the last few days, it seems, has been in New Jersey, where the government remains shut down by a staring contest over taxes between the governor and the assembly, a big-ticket U.S. Senate race has turned brutally personal and an Oxford-educated proponent of school vouchers has officially taken over one of the poorest cities in the country.

The one area in which New York stands to forge ahead, as far as the action goes, is in the judicial arena, where the Court of Appeals is expected to produce a decision today on gay marriage. The New York Court of Appeals isn't considered to be quite as liberal as New Jersey's highest court - which is also expected to render an opinion on the subject fairly soon - so the legal and political impact both locally and nationally could be that much greater if gay marriage wins the day.

Any predictions on the decision? On the impact it could have on the statewide races? On how it might affect the upcoming judicial appointments? And on how the New Yorkers entertaining certain ideas about 2008 -- Hillary Clinton, George Pataki, Mike Bloomberg and especially Rudy Giuliani -- might handle it?