Obama shouldn't 'evolve' on anything.

[Drunken Irishman]

75. You're right about that. Which is why his decision was commendable...

Because politically, it could have hurt. Especially in a close election that was not near the runaway many of us had hoped for in 2010 or so. Break down the polls and you'll see a great deal of the support for gay marriage came from younger people - the least likely to vote. Opposition, as it currently is, came from the older people - the most likely to vote.

Moreover, support for marriage equality among BLACK voters was far less than among WHITE voters. Obama always had to rely on black support to help bolster his weak numbers among white voters. I remember at the time there was concern that it could alienate those voters, or at least put their support in doubt. It didn't transpire, thankfully, but it was a legit concern. In fact, maybe Obama coming out when he did helped navigate the issue more progressively among the black community than had he just stayed quiet.

I mean, what you're basically saying is that Obama either should have come out in support when YOU felt it was needed or not come out at all. The fact he changed his feelings is irrelevant and just as damning, I guess, than not coming out in support if it ever. As I originally said, because he didn't meet your window of opportunity, he was damned no matter what he did and I question if he had come out in 2008 or whatever, if you wouldn't say it was too late then too.

Do you think Kennedy was any less a leader because of his extremely tepid response to Civil Rights? What about FDR and the banning lynching? Neither advanced the causes as great as they could have and Kennedy was pretty much forced into addressing Civil Rights because of the unrest in the South.

The fact you can't give the President even a sliver of credit for his coming out in support of it, even after all he's done for the gay community since becoming president, speaks of your intentions.