Politics are still politics

As most people have heard by now, President Obama voiced his support for gay marriage on Wednesday.

Whether this was a response to Joe Biden doing what he does best (read: blurting things out uncontrollably) is uncertain, but it certainly was quite a historic moment for the White House.

While I think it’s great that this issue is getting the attention it deserves, I won’t talk about the subject of gay marriage itself here.

Quite honestly, it’s been done to death and I’m not so sure I’m the man to talk about it.

Today I’d like to talk about why I really was ecstatic to hear the President’s statements this week. Specifically, why I’m so excited to see Obama finally commit his support.

Perhaps it’s my cynicism, but I’m pretty sure President Obama didn’t suddenly have a change of heart. Or that his “view on the subject was evolving,” whatever the hell that means.

No, the reason the President is solidifying his stance on gay marriage is the same reason he was so hesitant to take a strong stance in the first place: votes.

Throughout his first term, President Obama did his very best to skirt the issue. It’s an emotional issue for many people, and upsetting some of those potential voters could have cost him the election. It was best to avoid until after election season.

But now, considering the stance Romney is taking on the issue, it’s easy to see why the President has made this decision.

If the idea of gay marriage was so repulsive to the independents Obama was initially courting, they most likely wouldn’t have liked his wishy-washy stance on the topic.

These independents would probably have voted for Romney’s anti-gay marriage stance anyway, so going after them was a futile endeavor. 

So, why does all this make me happy? Well, I’m hoping this whole “honesty” thing becomes a trend.

I’m completely sick and tired of politicians tip-toeing around the political arena when talking about the actual issues and yet running into battle when it comes time to bash their opponents’ stances on these same issues. It makes no sense.

I absolutely hated Rick Santorum, but at least he was consistent and vocal in his views.

Even if it did turn his name into one of the dirtiest sexual terms I’ve ever heard in my life.

But why are these strong stances so important?

Why is it such a bad idea for the President to side-step every question asked of him? Well, because it doesn’t help the voters out in the slightest.

Like I said, my opinion as to why Presidwent Obama has finally come around to gay marriage is that he wanted to drop the voters who don’t support it and gain those who do. This immensely streamlines the voting process.

Now, independents don’t have to waffle between Obama and Romney, trying to decipher hours of “political talk.”

We can cut through miles of red tape and finally start to move toward solving these
issues.  

­— kevsjack@indiana.edu