In “The Coming Battle,” I warned that Massachusetts might legalize gay marriage this coming summer. I also predicted that this would kick off a national culture war with huge implications for the upcoming political campaign. Now it looks as though the schedule for the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court to decide Goodridge v. Massachusetts Department of Public Health has been moved up. We could have a ruling as soon as late March or early April. (Possibly, just as an invasion of Iraq is winding down.) Meanwhile, Joshua Mercer has some thoughts on how legalized gay marriage in Massachusetts might play into the race for the Democratic presidential nomination.