Obama's evolution on same-sex marriage was no random selection

By Phil Lawler ( bio - articles - email ) | May 09, 2012

Is anyone honestly surprised that President Obama has announced his support for same-sex marriage?

The timing may be a bit unexpected; Obama might have preserved a bit of ambiguity about his stance until after the November elections. But when he said that his views were “evolving”—after having stated 4 years ago that he could not support same-sex marriage—everyone knew in which direction they would evolve. This is clearly a case of “directed” evolution, in which fashionable public opinion among American intellectuals substitutes for “intelligent design.”

Or maybe an entirely different force is at work. Maybe Obama’s position represents a victory for “survival of the fittest,” insofar as his re-election campaign has concluded that open endorsement of same-sex marriage will be a net political gain. By throwing his support to the gay-rights movement, the President will ensure even more enthusiastic support from a large and very effective lobby. Homosexual activists were already likely to vote for him, but now they will be campaigning (and donating) vigorously for him as well. And the President’s announcement costs him very little, politically speaking. Anyone seriously opposed to same-sex marriage was already a near-certainty to vote for his Republican opponent, because everyone already knew where his “evolving” progress would eventually take him.