Has there ever been a less-surprising political reversal given this level of breathless treatment by the media? If there is another parallel I can’t think of it. Which isn’t to take away from the historical nature of this decision by the President. It is a momentous decision no matter where you come down on this. But it’s really, really hard to swallow Chris Matthew’s “den of wolves” rhetoric when the Right had absolutely nothing to do with forcing the President’s hand on this. This decision had everything to do with the President’s calculus on how this would impact his own political fortunes, and nothing to do with those who oppose gay marriage. This has to be obvious to everyone, right?
In reality, just about everything the President could have done to undermine traditional marriage he’s already done. The fact that he is finally being honest about his own convictions might be icing on the cake for many of his supporters, and it will probably also aid his fundraising efforts, but I really don’t see how it fundamentally alters any of the key dynamics in this race. Most Americans are a lot more worried about their economic prospects than whether their gay friends and relatives will ever be able to marry. Even among conservatives online the most common reaction seems to be indifference. Really the most noteworthy thing about this is how politically calculating and dishonest it exposes Obama to be. But I wouldn’t hold your breath waiting for the media to give much coverage to this inconvenient fact.
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