1. His base wanted him to (your bundler point) because they care about the issue.

They do care about the issue and his base sent him more than a million in the hour after he issued his statement. The cynical part of me saw his campaign donations lagging from what they were at the same point in '08. He needed to get that rolling again, so he picked that time to do it. He was up your way today to raise funds and he'll be at Clooney's digs tonight with other bundlers to pick up another $6+ mil. The wheels of politics are greased with money, you know.

Another point I'll make about the donations lagging from some because of his reluctance to endorse the cause can be found in this statement:

Norman Lear, the television producer, said moments after the announcement that he and his wife, Lyn, who had held back from giving money to Mr. Obama, would now contribute the maximum allowed, $80,000 between them. “This is the kind of leadership we support, and we are happy to max out today to his re-election campaign,” he said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/10/us/politics/obamas-new-courting-of-hollywood-pays-off.html?_r=1

2. The nationwide polling trends made it safe

Nationwide polling trends don't hold true in the states (30 now) that don't recognize gay marriage. Seven of the nine swing states have bans or near bans. When the issue has been put on the ballot, a gay-marriage ban usually passes by a wide margin: Fifty-five percent in Colorado, 62 percent in Florida, 62 percent in Ohio, 57 percent in Virginia, 67 percent in Nevada, 59 percent in Wisconsin and North Carolina, now, with 61 percent. Even California had over 52%. You could eliminate the black vote and those numbers would drop, but it wouldn't matter because blacks will vote for him regardless.

3. Biden waded in and forced the presidents hand.

If there's one thing you can count on from Slow Joe, it's the fact he's a gaffe factory working three shifts. I have a feeling he was testing the waters, but he did come out today and apologize to the Big-O. Obama said Biden ‘Got Out a Little Bit Over His Skis’. Otherwise...






4. Because he's held this opinion (and his tongue) for a long time as a political compromise. FINALLY his public opinion matches his private.

The Amazing Evolving Obama. Here's what he said in '04 during his run for the Senate:





And when he was running for prez in '08:




Now, after his epiphany, his metamorphosis is complete and he can beat the campaign stump with new vigor. At some point though, he'll have to get down to brass tacks and start talking about how he's planning on fixing the economy and getting people back to work. In the general scheme of things, there aren't a lot of folks who care whether Heather has two mommies, or it was Adam and Eve in the garden; not Adam and Steve.

to me obama is not pandering because it is a position that may actually hurt his reelection chances not withstanding some fundraising boost from gay donors.

the evangelical crazies do not really like romney but this position by obama might get them fired up enough to energize the base in swing states.

to me, a changed position that hurts one's political chances speaks volumes more than changing one's positions on a daily basis.

obama may have made a gutsy call to go into pakistan for bin laden... but romney has even bigger balls lying about his past positions on a daily basis.

Hank, once again I salute you.

You spend far more (as in too much) time in explaination of the obvious.....and for what? The chances of changing anyone's beliefs here are somewhere between zero and one half of one percent...being generous.

I always appreciate how the Left Ringers always try to say that any original thoughts and statements contrary to their own talking points must be the result of a mass right wing conclusion.

The whole point of this thread is obvious, but maybe not so much for some.

It boils down to ......... Flip Floppin' ain't a Romney exclusive trait. You dipsticks can try to find some heart warming reason for "O" boy's reversal, but it doesn't wash.....it was and is all about the money, honey.........

For a lot of these folks (and I'm talking to you too, Abby), I have to spend a lot of time and talk real slow so they can catch on. They're pretty dim.

Pictures help too.

Since I haven't had a drink in more than 25 years, you must be talking about yourself! One foot out and one foot in......as per

I made plenty of bad choices in my life.....you're just starting. Rookie.

The pot head can't even understand that Slab stopped drinking 25 years ago....he's fried.

I don't know if I would revert "instantly", but it wouldn't be long...."Better living through chemistry" is like that. I reached a point where I almost killed a guy after starting a fight with two loud-mouths......and I didn't care. That's pretty serious stuff. I really don't want to go back there....and it certainly isn't likely that anyone here will get me started.....

I quote the comedian Godfrey, " I pick my President like I pick up the first person in a basketball game. I'll take the Black guy"

I messed up the quote

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uk2Azl628Nw&feature=youtube_gdata_player

The media picking up something that happened nearly a half-century ago and trying to make something of it is pretty amusing to me. "Romney puts dogs on the roof of his car, and not only that, he's a bully too."

OK, Obama eats dog and he pushes chubby black girls until they run away crying.

The next thing we'll find out about Romney is he once spilled his milk when he was a toddler...and he didn't even say he was sorry.

Weren't the republicans crying about Obamas birth certificate. Both sides are babies that bitch and whine and find the most retarded things to defame a person character. Positions of power come with the guaranteed end result of not being able to please everyone. They're all better men to me. Id tea bag every lil shiet talker starting with O'reilly then Cooper. Just sayin'.

Wait so what's the statute of limitations on "old" stuff then Hank?

I mean at least Romney was the ACTOR here, unlike the criticism you happily engaged in of Obama's former preacher.

Can we all agree that ALL this stuff is nonsense? Either that or stop complaining about people bringing up this stuff.

Slab & Sol,

If you guys had half a brain between you, you'd put Abu on ignore. No offense to you or Abu, but your inane pot shots at each other waste bandwidth in political threads. Hank, you too.

You tell me, IR. Is the statute of limitations 48+ years for Romney, or is it 30+ years for Obama? It is nonsense and I didn't bring it up; I responded to someone who did. I left Obama's former preacher out of that response. Why did you bring him up?

You're boring me Hank. What do you think of Rocky Anderson and his independent or Justice Party campaign? As indys go, I agree with far more of his platform than say, Ross Perot or Ron Paul. Of course, his ideological outlook seems doomed in a government electoral process bought and paid for by global corporate interests.

Specifically, 23% of independents and 10% of Democrats say it makes them less likely to vote for Obama, while a smaller 11% of independents and 2% of Republicans say it makes them more likely to vote for Obama. Those figures suggest Obama's gay marriage position is likely to cost him more independent and Democratic votes than he would gain in independent and Republican votes, clearly indicating that his new position is more of a net minus than a net plus for him. However, those figures also underscore that it is a relatively limited group of voters -- about one in three independents and fewer than one in 10 Republicans or Democrats -- whose votes may change as a result of Obama's new stance on gay marriage.

And for any voter with half a brain or more, gay marriage is NOT a presidential campaign issue. It's not even a political issue. Thinking voters will base their decision on issues that matter to the welfare of the nation. Well, no, they actually won't, because if that were the case Obama and Romney would both be losers.