Why didn’t Obama announce gay marriage support before today?

Via Fox News:

President Obama on Wednesday endorsed same-sex marriages, becoming the first sitting U.S. president to take that position following days of speculation about his “evolving” stance on the issue. 

The president used a hastily called TV interview to make his position clear. 

“At a certain point, I’ve just concluded that for me personally, it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same-sex couples should be able to get married,” Obama told ABC News. 

The president, who was previously opposed to the unions, explained that he’s gone through an “evolution.” Obama said he initially thought civil unions would suffice as a vehicle to give same-sex couples the rights commensurate with those of heterosexual couples. “I’d hesitated on gay marriage in part because I thought civil unions would be sufficient,” he said. 

But he said his position evolved over the years, “as I have talked to friends and family and neighbors, when I think about members of my own staff who are in incredibly committed monogamous relationships, same-sex relationships, who are raising kids together, when I think about those soldiers or airmen or marines or sailors who are out there fighting on my behalf and yet feel constrained, even now that Don’t Ask Don’t Tell is gone, because they are not able to commit themselves in a marriage.”

The statement follows days of speculation about his stance. Vice President Biden effectively touched off those questions when, in a Sunday show interview, he expressed support for same-sex marriages. Education Secretary Arne Duncan the next day said he is in favor of the unions. Drawing more attention to the issue, voters in North Carolina on Tuesday approved a state constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. 

Is this a “brave” move by the President? Not really, when you consider how he was pushed into making a statement on it due to recent events/statements, as the article notes. Not only that, but he’s straddled the fence on gay marriage in the past, going back and forth – leaving the liberal gay community more or less hanging. Also, consider how he gave virtually no support to liberal groups both here in NC and nationwide who were opposed to Amendment One, which overwhelmingly passed yesterday in my state’s primary. I was active on social media prior to and during the primary yesterday and I saw repeated comments from liberal activists asking, “Where are you, President Obama”? The answer is he was hoping to avoid the issue, because he figured he could, as he always has, string the liberal gay community along for another few months until he (presumably) got reelected. The dirty little secret is that President Obama has not wanted to alienate potential voters in a Southern state that is still by and large conservative and red, especially liberal black evangelical voters who tend to line up with conservatives when it comes to social issues gay marriage (as they did in California).

Barack Obama had to finally be forced into stating publicly his position on a sensitive social issue he didn’t want to thanks to being one-upped on it (likely by mistake) by members of his administration who have been much more honest about their position on the issue in recent weeks than he has. In other words, he didn’t lead on this issue. He followed. This isn’t “courage”, as will likely be spun in the coming days by the MSM, commentators, and other various and assorted liberals. It’s called “desperately trying to save face” before you completely lose it with a bloc of supporters (the liberal gay community) who you, incidentally, need in terms of campaign cash, activism, and ultimately the ballot box. Only question is, how will he explain this to his liberal black supporters who are opposed gay marriage?

No doubt he’s warming up the spin machine as we speak to eventually address that very thing. Prepare to be underwhelmed or, at best, amused.

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