Pres. Obama supports same-sex marriage
The president's historic statement yesterday that gay couples should be allowed to marry was a milestone in American politics. But what does it mean for the 2012 election? Liberals are energized, but Pres. Obama could lose support in crucial swing states like North Carolina, where evangelical voters could tip the scales against him.
In response to the president's watershed moment, Mitt Romney re-affirmed his opposition to gay marriage. The candidates' contrast on marriage equality again casts the campaign as a choice between the past vs. the future. And for the Obama campaign -- and the Obama brand -- the benefits of being on the right side of history may ultimately outweigh the short-term political damage he might suffer.