WASHINGTON – With his endorsement of gay marriage on Wednesday, President Obama electrified his liberal base, incensed cultural conservatives and may have ensured that a debate on social issues will play a part in the debate ahead of the November election.
But Obama's endorsement, which comes one day after voters in the swing state of North Carolina overwhelmingly approved a state constitutional amendment banning gay unions and domestic partnership, is a political gamble.
Americans remain deeply divided on the issue, with 50% supporting gay marriage and 48% against it, according to a Gallup Poll released Tuesday. But polling shows that young voters, who were key to Obama's victory in 2008, and independent voters are increasingly comfortable with gay marriage.
Likely GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney told reporters that he disagreed with Obama's position, as surrogates stressed he has remained consistent on the issue. Romney has never embraced gay marriage, but in his unsuccessful bid for the U.S. Senate in 1994, he said that he would be better on gay rights than Sen. Edward Kennedy.
"States are able to make decisions with regard to domestic partnership benefits such as hospital visitation rights, benefits and so forth of various kinds can be determined state by state, but my view is that marriage itself is a relationship between a man and a woman and that's my own preference," Romney said Wednesday.
In the ABC interview, Obama said that his shift in position came after years of careful consideration and talks with friends, family and neighbors. The president said that he and the first lady have discussed the issue across the dinner table, and considered their daughters' perspectives on the issue.
"Malia and Sasha, it wouldn't dawn on them that somehow their friends' parents would be treated differently," Obama said. "It wouldn't make sense to them. And frankly, that's the kind of thinking that prompts a change in perspective."
The Obama campaign, which declined to discuss political implications of the decision, could be pleased that independent voters support the legalization of marriage 57%-40%, according to the latest Gallup Poll. On Wednesday evening, the president sent a fundraising e-mail to supporters explaining his position.
Meanwhile, 71% of voters ages 18-29, another crucial group for Obama, said they favored legalization of gay marriage in three Gallup polls taken over the past year. "The middle can be won on this issue," said Lanae Erickson Hatalsky, director of social policy and politics at Third Way, a Democratic-leaning think tank . "There's a lot of energy among young voters on this issue, a group they sorely need in November."
Some conservatives and gay-marriage opponents argued that Obama has given Romney leverage in several swing states that have gay-marriage bans on the books, including Florida, Nevada, North Carolina Ohio and Virginia. "He just lost the election," said Brian Brown, president of the National Organization for Marriage.
Timing is everything
Obama had intended to make the announcement in support of gay marriage before the Democratic convention in early September, according to a White House aide, who spoke on condition of anonymity to talk about internal deliberations. The intense media scrutiny given to the comments by Biden and Duncan pushed up the timetable. The aide said the gay-marriage issue would not be a major part of their campaign, and it remains unclear whether it will affect the outcome of the election.
North Carolina was just one of several battles same-sex marriage proponents face over the several months. Voters could effect same-sex marriage in several states this fall, said Jennie Bowser of the National Conference of State Legislatures.
In Maine, a state law that would allow same-sex marriage is on the ballot, while in Minnesota, a constitutional amendment is under consideration that would ban it. Petitions for ballot measures are circulating in Nebraska and Ohio. Both would repeal existing bans. Voters may also get a chance in Washington state and Maryland to reject laws allowing same-sex marriage.
In past years, said Bowser, "it's mostly been anti-same-sex marriage, not pro-same-sex marriage. This is a turnaround."
Obama won North Carolina by only 14,000 votes in 2008 with support from young voters and minorities. The response was mixed in the state that both campaigns hope to win.
Ron Gates, 50, president of the Ministerial Alliance of Asheville, N.C., said he voted for Obama, but won't this year. "He won't get my vote again with a comment like that," said Gates, of Greater Works of God and Christ, a Pentecostal mixed-race congregation. "It's disappointing. Extremely disappointing."
"I think he is right," said Renardo Hart, 24, of Greenville, S.C., who voted for Obama. "Gay people should get married. Straight people get married. Gays should enjoy their life, being happy, being together."
In other swing states, Americans were divided in their response to Obama's shift.
"I feel like we've been waiting for it the entire time," said Emily Frerichs, 24, a graduate student in Iowa who is in a same-sex relationship. "Finally seeing him follow through is inspiring."
In Springfield, Mo., Jim Cookson, the senior pastor at the National Avenue Assembly of God, said the decision was calibrated to gain support.
"To me, a marriage is between a man and a woman," he said. "I think his primary position is to gain the support of the left and the homosexual community."
Accused of 'playing politics'
The announcement immediately drew cheers from Democrats, liberal clergy and gay rights activists. Republicans, including GOP National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus, accused Obama of "playing politics" and criticized him for being inconsistent in his stance.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who last year shepherded the legalization of same-sex marriage in New York, called Obama's support a "major advancement for equal rights in this country."
The Human Rights Campaign, which has long lobbied the president, said Obama "made history by boldly stating that gay and lesbian Americans should be fully and equally part of the fabric of American society." HRC President Joe Solmonese said the "words will no doubt inspire thousands more conversations around kitchen tables and in church pews."
Marc Solomon, of Freedom to Marry, said Obama was modeling for Americans what so many re going through as they weigh their feelings on the issue.
Few Republicans were surprised by the announcement and indicated his position would drive conservatives to the polls in November. "Obama must be really afraid he's in trouble with his base," said Penny Nance, president of Concerned Women for America. "While it energizes the left, it also energizes the right."
Other conservatives immediately began to raise money off the comments. Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee called same-sex marriage a "defining issue" for the election and in an e-mail encouraged supporters to donate at least $10 to his political action committee to help elect candidates that will preserve traditional marriage.
Tony Perkins, president of the conservative Family Research Council, questioned Obama's political calculus. "This could be the key to solidifying the enthusiastic support Romney needs among conservative oriented voters," he said.
Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., among the first openly gay members of Congress, said the decision wasn't without political risk but could help Obama in November. "I believe it will be clear in the days ahead that this will cost him no votes, since those opposed to legal equality for LGBT people were already inclined to oppose him," he said.
