But last week, in an interview, he seized on a particular chunk of testimony from the Federal Reserve chairman, Alan Greenspan, to say he would consider pushing for across-the-board tax cuts quickly, without packaging them with more targeted tax cuts that would benefit married couples and heirs.
While not insignificant, an expansion of benefits limited to those privileges would fall far short of the financial benefits given married military couples — including medical and dental benefits and housing allowances.
Unless we can offer unmarried people benefits on a par with the spousal benefits that married people get, then perhaps it's time to reduce the Social Security and Medicare taxes the unmarried are required to pay.
When Proposition 8 was on the California ballot in 2008, the official pamphlet explaining the initiative said that it did not "take away any rights or benefits of gay or lesbian domestic partnerships," which have the " 'same rights, protections, and benefits' as married spouses".
Because the Defense of Marriage Act does not allow federal spousal benefits for married same-sex couples, the military will have to work out ways to provide equivalent benefits to domestic partners.
Those laws, however, only assure whatever benefits other married couples enjoy under state law.
If benefits specify "married" partners or "spouse", they do not have to be extended to cover unmarried partners.
Nor would Vermont's civil unions be recognized by the federal government in granting benefits that married spouses receive.
Ms. Dohrenwend derides the idea, but many states provide same-sex couples all of the legal benefits that married couples enjoy without redefining marriage.
