If Rahm makes the political calls...

imagine his dilemma today!

(Kagan too, if as outgoing Solicitor General, she still has a recommending role in any of this.)

The judge's ruling is limited in scope: it applies only to couples in Massachusetts, and it deals only with federal recognition of gay marriage. It does not limit a state's right to reject another state's gay marriage.

The case is far more narrow than the one pending in California, that argues any ban on gay marriage is unconstitutional.

But Ohio State University professor Marc Spindelman says the Massachusetts decision may prove to be broadly influential.

"The court's decision doesn't box any other court in, but it's certainly likely to be persuasive authority and virtually certain to have a significant ripple effect," Spindelman says.

That ripple will grow if the Massachusetts decision survives expected challenges and makes it to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Obama administration lawyers are not yet commenting but an appeal is likely.

The president opposes DOMA but administration lawyers say it's their job to defend the law, and they can't pick and choose based on their policy preferences.