In the early days of a campaign or proto-campaign, candidates are often advised to define themselves before the opposition can. So far, Harold Ford is doing a less-than-stellar job.

Ford, a former Tennessee Congress member and relatively recent New York City transplant, is weighing a primary challenge against Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand. Gillibrand was appointed to Hillary Clinton's Senate seat in January 2009.

Curiously, Ford's beliefs - specifically his positions on same-sex marriage and abortion - seem to have morphed with his move from Tennessee to the Empire State.

Last week, NARAL Pro-Choice New York President Kelli Conlon issued a statement opposing a Ford candidacy, characterizing him as "anti-choice." The statement cited a 2006 MSNBC appearance where Ford stated he's pro-life.

"The ongoing debate on health-care reform has put in clear perspective how one legislator's vote can have a dramatic impact on the lives of American women," the statement said. "New York has not - and will not - provide that anti-choice vote."

Alan van Capelle, executive director of Empire State Pride Agenda, blogged that Ford's potential candidacy "should be particularly disturbing to LGBT New Yorkers." Ford voted for a federal same-sex marriage ban and has "gone out of his way" to criticize state court decisions that clear the way for same-sex marriage, van Capelle wrote.

In a Today show appearance early this week, Ford said that he now supports same-sex marriage. And an unnamed Ford advisor told the New York Times that Ford supports abortion rights and that he used the "pro-life" term in an attempt to reclaim it from anti-abortion-rights groups.