Obama's Evolution on Gay Marriage

     Predictably some on the Left are attacking Obama again over what should be a good thing-Vice President Biden is obviously "very comfortable" with gay marriage and Education Secretary Arnie Duncan says he personally is for gay marriage.

      This might seem to be progress but of course for some on the Left and some gay activists this only makes them step up attacks on Obama.

     "Such mixed messages will hurt Obama with gay voters, who will be less inclined to volunteer for and donate to the president’s re-election campaign, said John Aravosis, a gay- rights advocate and 2008 Obama supporter."

   “It’s a gaping wound of hurt,” Aravosis said, adding that the administration’s position won’t satisfy either side in the debate.

   “What really happens is once again people on the left feel like the president is playing games with our civil rights and people on the right think he’s for gay marriage anyway,” Aravosis said in an interview.

     http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/obama-gay-marriage-stance-comes-under-scrutiny-from-gay-rights-advocates/2012/05/08/gIQAPRVeAU_story.html

     First of all it's not entirely clear that it will please nobody. It might be that there are some of the President's base who are still decidedly not so comfortable with the idea of gay marriage but they are not looking for the explicit anti gay position of the Right.

     Now I have in mind in particularly African Americans. I know that might seem a little scandalous to say but as a community they are not yet so "evolved" on gay rights issues. If you doubt this check out the Black Agenda Report sometime. Gay marriage has there been portrayed largely as the prerogative of wealthy gay white men.

     It's key in this election to keep African American participation up. So it's this sort of calculation that might be holding the President up from full affirmation of gay marriage.

     In a way these lefties who always have to insist for the whole loaf at the worst times are annoying. Can't they see what the President is telling them-"I've got your back. My VP is very comfortable. You know he wouldn't be if I weren't."

    I mean whether or not Obama will say what Duncan said by November or not who do gay people really want looking out for them in the Oval Office? Is it Mitt Romney who says he wants a DOMA amendment?

     Still, I do agree that society is clearly "evolving" and that perhaps Obama does want to reconsider soon. When your Vice President and Education Secretary are on the record of at least being very comfortable to actually believing it should be legal there isn't a lot of neutral ground yet.

      I mean the strategy of giving everything except that final jump seems to have hit zero hour now.