From the New York Times' Editorial Board:
On Monday, Arne Duncan, Mr. Obama’s education secretary, also endorsed marriage equality. (Shaun Donovan, who is the secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, did so earlier.) That made it even harder to figure out what Mr. Obama and his political handlers think is gained by the president’s hedging.
The Obama administration has taken some positive steps against antigay discrimination, such as repealing the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy and ending the Justice Department’s legal defense of the Defense of Marriage Act, the unconstitutional law that bars federal recognition of legally performed same-sex unions.
In stark contrast to Mitt Romney, who has aligned himself with the most fervent opponents of same-sex marriage, Mr. Obama has come out against the proposed state constitutional amendment to bar same-sex marriages and civil unions that is going before voters in Tuesday’s primary election in North Carolina.
But, by failing to go the next step and actually say that he supports the freedom to marry as Mr. Biden does and as polls show nearly a majority of Americans do, Mr. Obama risks dampening the enthusiasm of allies without gaining the support of equality’s opponents. It’s not an unfamiliar place for this president to be, unfortunately.And that is exactly the question, where do they think they are gaining votes? Everyone already thinks he supports marriage equality but just doesn't have the courage to say it publicly.
Further, as we've written before, Romney will gloss over some of his anti-gay policies - what the New York Times dubs "stark contrasts" - by simply stating that he has the same position on marriage as Obama. They are miles apart on many LGBT issues, but that nuance will be lost on most voters when the question is focused on marriage and Romney says he and Obama agree.
