When she publicly, and passionately, declared her support this week for making same-sex marriage legal in Washington, Gov. Chris Gregoire anticipated the criticism opponents would level at her.

Shouldn’t the Legislature stay focused on the state’s unrelenting budget crisis and struggling economy? Of course that’s the priority of the difficult session that begins soon, but the governor said she’s a multitasker and expects lawmakers can be as well. It’s just not acceptable, the governor insisted, to say we can’t find time to end discrimination.

One persistent argument, she noted, is that “same-sex marriage weakens the institution of marriage.” Asking rhetorically whether it’s the role of the state to strengthen that institution, she said, “If so, it has failed miserably,” since about half of heterosexual marriages end in divorce.

What about compelling religions that morally oppose homosexual relations to accept or even bless same-sex marriages? “The responsibility of the state is to license only,” Gregoire said. “The right of a church is to decide whom to marry, and the state shall honor the religious freedom of all faiths.”

An unavoidable question was whether the governor is taking this stand now because she’s not running for re-election and thus is free of political pressure.

That’s when she made a remarkably frank statement, the kind few politicians will ever utter. “It has been a battle for me with my religion, and I have always been uncomfortable with the position that I took publicly,” she admitted, referring to her unwillingess until now to support same-sex marriage, even as she supported expanding legal rights for domestic partners. But she reached the point when “I finally said to myself it’s time to do the right thing, and let me just tell you, I feel so much better today than I have for the last seven years.”

If only more governors and politicians would find the courage to speak with such candor, and feel better about themselves.