Well that isn't very nice. As Joe notes over at AMERICAblog Gay:
Today, President Obama will be at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to give a speech on student loan interest rates, which will double in July if Congress doesn't act. That's not the big issue in North Carolina right now. North Carolinians are currently voting on the viciously anti-gay Amendment 1, which will ban marriage equality and more in the state. Early voting began on April 19th for the May 8th election. Much of the opposition is coming from students. The President's campaign issued a statement a couple weeks ago, which stated Obama's opposition to Amendment 1.It's not just not helpful. It sends a terrible message, having the President in the state, and NOT talking about the biggest issue in the state. It makes it look as if he's afraid to talk about the issue. And it sends the message to voters, especially certain constituencies deeply aligned with the President, that he just might not care how they vote on the issue.
I get that the White House wants to stay on message and talk about the economy rather than gay stuff. Okay. Then don't go to North Carolina two weeks before a crucial anti-gay vote. To go anyway, and ignore a massive civil (and human) rights violation in the making, is somewhat ugly, to say the least. It's also asking for political trouble with a constituency that knows how to make it.
