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Here are some of the theories about Obama's announcement that he supports marriage equality:- He was scheduled to do it anyway, but Biden jumped the gun.
- Gays and gay-friendly liberals were withholding contributions, so Obama made the announcement for the campaign money. No courage was involved, just calculation.
- This will cost him the election because of swing voters in marginal states like Ohio.
- He shouldn't listen to his daughters but should be a man and tell them homosexuality is not OK - Bristol Palin, world famous expert on sex, family, and marriage.
Yet I think there is something a little more interesting here. There's a strong likelihood of a very close election where a few votes in Ohio make all the difference. If so, this stand could cost him the election. Knowing this, he didn't sugarcoat it. On the other hand, not making the announcement could have cost him the contributions needed to run a campaign that can win.
This is one of those tough choices politicians are sometimes forced to make. It isn't clear what is better electorally. Yet, after the stumble by Biden put Obama on the spot, he actually handled it with some grace. He didn't try to have it both ways, as I felt Bush tried to do on many issues. He didn't delay the decision until after the election, as Bush definitely did with firing Rumsfeld. So, on the whole, not too bad for someone who needs to get reelected, and substantially better than the previous president (who was possibly the worst president of my lifetime, so not a high bar).
Extras:
- "No Barry, when we said we want a job, that’s not the kind of job we meant." -- HotAir comment
- "This gay republican supports Obama’s position — if he 'comes out' in support for equality today. Still won’t be voting for him though." -- HotAir comment
- Bernstein writes that Obama's announcement sent a message to a lot of blacks that same-sex marriage is OK. For the many who didn't have strong opinions in either direction, that's enough for them to flip, so polls of support have changed very quickly. (This phenomenon is common with many voters, not just blacks.)
3 comments:
I don't always agree with you, MP, but I think you got this one about right. I'm pretty sure that Obama, who is a smart guy, realized the basic truth that "marriage" is what the couple calls it; the rest is just a contract between two people. So who's to say what's right or wrong, and worthy or equal recognition or no recognition at all, vis-a-vis the public sphere.
This is a political problem, however, because lots of people think and vote with their guts, not their heads, and some are so sickened by homosexuality that they would change their minds on one issue alone. I doubt there are that many -- and recent surveys on the subject support the conclusion -- but it could make a difference in a close state or two.
Did Joe B. jump the gun. Perhaps. Obama's his own man, though, and if he had decided to approach the decision or his public announcement differently, he would have. On balance, I think it's a net lose for him, but only partially so. And the sooner it's out there the better politically, so Biden may have done him and the campaign a favor.
To seal the deal, however, someone of importance has to make the argument that same-sex couples can call themselves "married" no matter what the law says about it, and there's no way to stop them, and if one is against it simply to protect completely unrelated legal agreements between other people, that's just a bigoted position plain and simple. All one has to do is to ignore the legal status of people they don't know and have no impact on them, personally.
@Anon, I wouldn't call anti-homosexual positions "bigotry." It's easy for critical thinkers to weigh evidence and decide that homosexuality isn't inherently wrong. It's a lot harder for someone whose been taught that for X decades (with doctrinal or quasi-scientific arguments) to go through such a transformation.
My sense of the meaning of 'bigotry' is that it entails hate, and not everyone against same-sex marriage hates gays. I'm going to be careful using the word bigot, even if I haven't always been careful before. However, I'm not giving anyone a free pass either.
I meant, I wouldn't call ALL anti-homosexual positions ...
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