Politico Arena Asks:

Education Secretary Arne Duncan says he supports gay marriage, following Vice President Joe Biden’s statement Sunday on “Meet the Press” that he is “comfortable” with it. President Barack Obama has not voiced support for gay marriage, instead backing civil unions, though he has maintained for over a year that his views are “evolving.”

Has the President’s hand been forced on the issue so he’ll have to declare his position one way or another? Or would backing gay marriage now make it look like he caved into Democratic pressure groups?

My Response:

It’s the job of advocates to make it impossible for politicians not to do the right thing. Biden knows what the right thing is, as does Obama . And now they’re being forced to “evolve.”

Linda Hirshman, in her upcoming book Victory: The Triumphant Gay Revolution, (Harper/Collins) due out on June 5 (www.gayvictorybook.com), explains exactly what’s going on in political terms:

“Why is this happening? Gays are at most a small percentage of the population. Support for same sex marriage just outpolled opposition within the last year. Wasn’t it supposed to be the economy, stupid?

“Biden unwittingly revealed the answer when explaining why he was in favor of marriage. He knew so many people, he said, and saw what it meant to them and to their children. He told a story of attending a fundraiser at the home of a gay couple and how impressed he was with the way they were raising their children. Even amongst Republicans, as Grenfell’s appointment reflects, gays are out and in too great numbers for the issue to be swept into the closet once again.”