Obama's Coming Out

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I went to bed last night feeling depressed about North Carolina's Amendment One. Today, the President restored some of my faith in humanity by coming out (of the closet) in favor of same-sex marriage, the first sitting President ever to do so. It's a poorly-guarded secret that he has been on our side all along, but to say it directly this close to his re-election is a brave move. Republicans are going to call it flip-flopping and a moral outrage. Black voters consistently demonstrate that they are opposed, and obviously are a major part of Obama's constituency. North Carolina is a key swing state, as demonstrated by the Democrats' decision to host their National Convention there this summer, and this probably won't go over so well there. All in all, though, I think this will do more political good than harm. Obama needed to energize young people, and give them back some of the hope for change they bought into in the months leading up to the 2008 election. He needed to make sure the young voters didn't feel apathetic about the outcome of the election, and I think this was just the trick. More importantly, he needed to demonstrate leadership by being true to his convictions, and standing up for the rights of all Americans. I guess we'll find out in November whether President Obama shot himself in the foot with this one, but today I'm proud to be a Democrat.

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