M&R: What about the blowback on gay marriage -- that you cost the Democrats the election? In hindsight, would you have done it differently?
Newsom: Nope. I stand by that 1,000 percent -- in fact, I've never felt more resolved.
M&R: What about the criticism from fellow Democrats?
Newsom: Irrelevant.
M&R: Why?
Newsom: Remember what Martin Luther King Jr. said in his Birmingham jail cell -- everyone says wait, and he said, "Wait almost always means never." And you know what? He was right. "Too much, too soon?" No -- it was too little, too slow.
M&R: What if this has burned your chances of going any further?
Newsom: Big deal. I mean, that assumes that my life is defined by some title. It's defined by something much more substantive -- it's defined by my ability to feel that I've done my best and added some value.