Members of the media and elements of the liberal blogosphere tried to manufacture a stink over the weekend after Vice President Joe Biden voiced his support for same-sex marriage. The question quickly became -- if the vice president will voice such support, why won't President Obama?
This morning Secretary of Education Arne Duncan also voiced his support for marriage equality during his appearance on MSNBC's Morning Joe saying simply "Yes, I do." And the question from skeptical elements persists -- if the secretary of education will voice his support, why won't President Obama?
The obvious answer is that President Obama has voiced his support for equal marriage rights. As recently as the Human Rights Campaign National Dinner in 2011, he explicitly said he supports equal rights for all Americans regardless of their sexual orientation. More than that, every area of policy espoused by the administration, from ending DADT, standing down on DOMA, and advocating for benefits for same-sex partners for federal employees including the military, reflects that position.
As David Axelrod said today, comments made by Vice President Joe Biden over the weekend are entirely consistent with the president's position. There is no daylight between them. And despite the facts, the persistent narrative is that the president is "dancing around" the issue and avoiding the subject.
In both the cases of North Carolina's and Minnesota's prospective same-sex marriage bans currently being considered in both states, the Obama campaign has issued official statements in opposition, further signaling that the campaign does not intend to shy away from the issue.
Both the Romney Campaign and Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus are attacking the president as if he supports same-sex marriage -- probably because, as anyone who's been paying attention knows, he does support same-sex marriage -- so at this point if you are still questioning the president's sincerity you are just doing their job for them.
President Obama does not have a reputation for "dancing around" issues. What he does have a reputation for is methodically moving chess pieces across the board until such time that everything falls into place. Same-sex marriage will be an election-year issue, and there should be no doubt who the real enemy is.