Month: May 2012
Obama Endorses Marriage Equality
Update from Trish: Obama sent this email message to further amplify his thoughts on the subject:
Today, I was asked a direct question and gave a direct answer:
I believe that same-sex couples should be allowed to marry.
I’ve always believed that gay and lesbian Americans should be treated fairly and equally. I was reluctant to use the term marriage because of the very powerful traditions it evokes. And I thought civil union laws that conferred legal rights upon gay and lesbian couples were a solution.
But over the course of several years I’ve talked to friends and family about this. I’ve thought about members of my staff in long-term, committed, same-sex relationships who are raising kids together. Through our efforts to end the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, I’ve gotten to know some of the gay and lesbian troops who are serving our country with honor and distinction.
What I’ve come to realize is that for loving, same-sex couples, the denial of marriage equality means that, in their eyes and the eyes of their children, they are still considered less than full citizens.
Even at my own dinner table, when I look at Sasha and Malia, who have friends whose parents are same-sex couples, I know it wouldn’t dawn on them that their friends’ parents should be treated differently.
So I decided it was time to affirm my personal belief that same-sex couples should be allowed to marry.
I respect the beliefs of others, and the right of religious institutions to act in accordance with their own doctrines. But I believe that in the eyes of the law, all Americans should be treated equally. And where states enact same-sex marriage, no federal act should invalidate them.
Swiss Miss? Bachmann is Sworn in as Swiss Citizen
It’s hard to imagine an American president gushing about the wonders of another country the way Switzerland’s newest citizen, U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, does in this video.
Were the United States to have a conflict with Switzerland, whose side is hypothetical Pres. Bachmann on?
Bachmann took the astounding initiative to become a Swiss citizen for what can only be described as fuzzy reasons. Her husband is Swiss. O.K. Yes, but why would someone who ran for president of the United States so recently that she still hasn’t paid off her campaign debts decide to be a citizen of a whole other country?
The move raises even more questions than being born in Hawaii (Obama) or Panama (McCain). For starters, to which country is her allegiance? Were the United States to have a conflict with Switzerland, whose side is hypothetical Pres. Bachmann on?
Romney’s Blunders Keep On Coming, And Yet Coverage of His Campaign Has Become More Positive and His Poll Numbers Have Improved
“Everything changes,” Romney adviser Eric Fehrnstrom famously said on CNN in March. “It’s almost like an Etch A Sketch. You can kind of shake it up and restart all over again.”
Fehrnstrom’s gaffe resonated because it fed into the public’s perception that Mitt Romney is a flip-flopper who changes his views to match those of whatever constituency he’s trying to woo. But Ferhnstrom was actually referring to the pivot, a routine campaign dynamic in which candidates who win primaries retool their messaging to appeal to moderate swing voters whose votes usually decide elections.
It got lost in the controversy over Fehrnstrom’s Etch A Sketch gaffe but candidates, especially presidential candidates, cannot execute the pivot on their own. What Ferhnstrom and the reporters covering his gaffe knew was that Romney would have help erasing his primary bungles from the very reporters who were tittering over Ferhnstrom’s unintentional truth-telling.
But why could Romney and Ferhnstrom feel they could rely on supposedly objective reporters to help them rewrite the history of the 2012 Republican primary? […]
Voters: Obama More Likable Than Romney
61% to 33%
Of U.S. registered voters say Barack Obama is more likable than Mitt Romney. Obama also leads on perceived leadership and caring, and ties Romney on managing government and issue agreement, according to Gallup.
Prez Campaign Like a ‘Handjob in a Bangkok Bathhouse’
The people who work for the wire services and the news networks are physically incapable of writing sentences like, ‘This election is even more over than the Knicks-Heat series.’ They are required, if not by law then by neurological reflex, to describe every presidential campaign as ‘fierce’ and ‘drawn-out’ and ‘hotly-contested.’ … But this campaign, relatively speaking, will not be fierce or hotly contested. Instead it’ll be disappointing, embarrassing and over very quickly, like a hand job in a Bangkok bathhouse. And everybody knows it. It’s just impossible to take Mitt Romney seriously as a presidential candidate. Even the news reporters who are paid to drum up dramatic undertones are having a hard time selling Romney as half of a titanic title bout.
— Matt Taibbi, writing in Rolling Stone magazine.
Half of Americans Favor Same-Gender Marriage
50%
Of Americans believe same-sex marriages should be recognized by law as valid — down slightly from 53% last year, but still the second highest in Gallup’s history of tracking this question.
Santorum’s Non-Endorsement Endorsement of Romney
Email is insufficient for some things — like breaking up a romance, quitting a job and this:
Rick Santroum sent an email to his supporters on Monday night announcing that he would back Mitt Romeny for the presidency and that everyone needs to support “our nominee” to defeat Barack Obama. In a long explanation, which is also posted on his website, Santorum says that he spoke to Romney last week and received assurances that “family and its foundational role in America’s economic success” are also important to the former governor, too. He also says that he’s “comfortable” with Romney’s foreign policy positions and that he’s convinced Romney will repeal Obamacare if elected, so don’t worry about all that stuff I said about him being a terrible candidate…
It’s slightly telling that Santorum chose to make the endorsement in writing, rather than in person, as most failed politicians do. There may be a time in the not-too-distant future where the two rivals publicly make amends, but doing it in this way allows Santorum to stand behind the party while keeping Romney honest.
Corpulent Vice President
Sounds like a change of heart for Chris Christie,
Who now says, “I’ll be veep if Mitt asks me.”
I guess they must think it
Will balance the ticket:
An intellectual lightweight from New England and a fat loud buffoon from New Jersey!
