Did you read last week where Microsoft got in all kinds of trouble every single interest group from gay activists to the religious right?

Actually, it was only those two groups. The rest of us in between just shook our heads in wonder at Microsoft's klutziness, as it first took a shaky neutral stance on some gay rights legislation in Washington and then switched over to a shaky stance in favor of the bill傭ut too late to help it pass.

The whole incident left gays, who had hoped the company would come out on their side because it's known for its gay-friendly work culture and benefits, smarting.

And it left people like right-wing preacher Ken Hutcherson, who has been credited with pressuring Microsoft into taking its original neutral stance, gloating. "If they were poker players, they'd be out of the game right now," said Hutcherson.

Me, I'm not in a gloating mood on this one. I'm in a watchful mood. I'm waiting for the Red state-Blue-state culture war in the U.S.葉he one that keeps demanding to know which side we're on as individuals, and worse, presuming to know葉o start using wedge issues in order to pin companies down to Red company and Blue company.

It's started already, of course.

Costco and Target are Blue companies. Wal-Mart is a Red company.

Volvo, Saab, VW, Saturn: Blue.

Ford, Chevy: Red.

We're not likely to have any Blue oil companies and we probably won't have any Red bookstore chains.

But as for companies and industries that haven't already defined themselves politically熔r unwittingly allowed themselves to be defined預re they thinking and talking about how to avoid looking like a deer caught in one blue headlight and one red headlight, as Microsoft did here?

If they're not, they'd better be.