What warms Karl Rove's big belly:

WASHINGTON — Gay rights advocates are pushing to legalize same-sex marriage with an unprecedented wave of lawsuits in state courts, while those seeking to ban such unions are gaining ground in state legislatures.

Culture war, it's the only thing Rove and the GOP have left. Fan the flames of hate and intolerance (note the ironic parallels to the Afghan man who converted to Christianity), incite the narrow-minded base, whatever it takes to get those votes.

Problem is perhaps the people are beginning to become more tolerant and accepting just when Rove needs to go to the "hate well" one more time:

Gay marriage remains a divisive issue, with 51% opposing it, the poll by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press found. But almost two-thirds, 63%, opposed gay marriage in February 2004.

"Most Americans still oppose gay marriage, but the levels of opposition are down and the number of strong opponents are down," said Andrew Kohut, director of the Pew Research Center. "This has some implications for the midterm elections if this trend is maintained."