Oh, yes he did...
Last week, President Barack Obama grabbed headlines when he sat down with ABC's Robin Roberts and finally revealed his personal opinions on same sex marriage (ssm). Not surprisingly, he feels it should be legal, but stopped well short of saying there should be a Federal Law protecting that right. Rather, he mostly punted it back to the States as fundamentally a states rights issue. Obama did state clearly he thinks there should NOT be a Federal law prohibiting ssm anywhere in the United States. The far Left rejoiced and campaign contributions spiked up quickly after the interview, which was to be expected. Also to be expected was outrage from the far Right and they didn't disappoint.
Its not news Obama is for SSM...
Its not news the Left is pleased...
Its not news the Right is not...
What is a bit of a news was the timing of the comments, which were reportedly already prepared but not scheduled for released until later this year, closer to the Democratic convention. Whether it was the comments from Vice President Biden or Sec. of Education Duncan that changed the time frame, I don't know. Most of the reporting I've heard was that this was not the intended plan for President Obama's long awaited comments on SSM.
Something's been bothering me about this since he sat down with ABC and shared his "evolution" with the rest of us. I couldn't quite put my finger on it.
And then I watched this six and a half minute video:
I'm wondering why a Constitutional lawyer and Professor wouldn't have used the same argument as Rev. Barber did? It would've made perfect sense for President Obama to come out and say "Robin-I support gay marriage and while I can respect how different people may feel differently on this issue, the Constitution doesn't give the States the right to pick and choose which parts they want to observe and which parts they don't. Certainly, we all agree that Churches will decide for themselves how they want to handle this issue and the Government needn't involve itself with that whatsoever."
That would have been the change I was hoping for...
"States rights" has been thrown around so much over the last few years its almost become a punchline. Its a favorite word of Conservatives, as they ride the energy of the Tea Party uprising a few years ago, to use as they beat the drum endlessly on how terrible and over-reaching the Federal Government has become. For President Obama to use that as a main component in his comments sounded nice. I even heard some RW talk radio hosts, who clearly dislike Mr. Obama, say the next day that on this particular point, the President finally got something right.
Hurrah, Mr. President. Hurrah...
Coming out in favor of gay marriage won't help Obama come next November very much. The people who agree/disagree with him on this issue had made up their minds a long time ago on who they'll vote for in seven months. Its difficult for me to think that many undecided/independents said after his comments, "NOW, I know who I'm voting for!!!" Frankly, the issue of ssm is a minor one when it comes to a Presidential election. Pocketbook issues will be the focus this time, without a doubt.
I fully expect in time, a few decades worth, this issue will be moot. Its pretty clear the Constitution doesn't discriminate against gays when it comes to marriage. The document guarantees every citizen "equal rights." To suggest a State could formally and officially discriminate against one sub-set of citizenry in favor of another is incomprehensible. North Carolina, for example, can outlaw all the gay marriage, civil unions, etc. they want, but when the dust settles, the Constitution will carry the day and protect the rights of these Americans.
Its not just disappointing that the President, who has studied and taught Constitutional Law, failed to hold that document up as the standard on this issue, its also quite telling that so many on the Right didn't either. I've lost track of how many times the founding fathers and their sacred documents have been tossed in to the rhetoric of the last few years to buttress this point or that. I'm just stunned, stunned I say that Conservatives didn't make the case for Constitution prevailing when the President didn't.
It really shows me something when an issue actually calls for the intervention and application of the Constitution, but our President nor his loyal opposition have the guts to use it correctly.
In the end of the day, I don't think President Obama's comments the other day will mean much of anything other than a temporary spike in his fundraising. In fact, I think it hurts him more than it helps him with the undecided voters who will decide the next election. This was a missed opportunity for him to be the guy protecting the Constitution for once and instead, he passed the buck...for now...to the States.
If I was a gay man, I'd be thinking its about time Obama spoke clearly on his feelings about ssm, but was that the best you could do?
Sources:
http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/obama-gay-marriage-support-leads-to-fundraising-boost/
http://www.rightwingwatch.org/category/people/james-dobson
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