Read the following article. What is the quandary facing President Obama? Why? What seems to be his current strategy? Is it problematic? What election advice would you give him? Any danger to your strategy?
24 Comments
Chris Collins
4/4/2012 12:58:57 pm
As November elections get closer, President Obama is pressured to voice his opinion on same sex marriage. This posses as a double-edged sword to him. On the one side he could announce his support for gay marriage and gain support and voters in the gay community. On the other side it could work against him in that it would give republicans who have not made up their mind about supporting Romney a strong reason to, seeing as he is against same sex marriage. One way or another it is ill advised to associate himself with a social issue that could make or break his candidacy this close to the elections. That is not to say it isn’t a very important issue that needs to be resolved for the betterment of the American people, a.k.a. legalizing same sex marriage. Obama’s current strategy seems to be to hold off on publically stating his opinion on the subject for as long as he can until the elections, where hopefully if he is re-elected he will turn his full attention and support towards it. This strategy has some fallbacks, including that if he did support same sex marriage he would most likely gain a large number of supporters and voters. Which is why as more and more Americans are showing their support for same sex marriage, my advice to president Obama in regards to the coming election would be to openly support same sex marriage. Of course this approach could back fire and turn the tables in Romney’s favor by rallying anti same sex marriage supports behind him. I can only hope that those for outnumber those against.
Reply
Andrew Abdalla
4/4/2012 03:55:37 pm
President Obama is stuck between a rock and a hard place. The rock being gay rights supporters and the hard place political suicide. Obama cannot choose one way or the other on this issue, without losing a large section of voters, either the gay community or the moderates who have not decided how to vote yet. Obama appears to be attempting to wait until the elections are over before taking a stance, however, some members of his party have been pressuring him to add gay rights to his platform. I would suggest that taking steps to maintain his relative neutrality on the issue would be the wisest course. However, he cannot afford to alienate himself from his party members, the House Minority Leader Pelosi in particular. The decision could mean election or not for Obama, and how he handles this situation could define his skill in handling vexing problems.
Reply
Mikhayla Crawford
4/5/2012 02:11:01 pm
Currently Obama is facing the issue of whether or not to address the gay marriage issue on his political platform for this year's presidential elections. This creates a potential increase of support from gays and lesbians, among others if he he speaks up in support of gay marriage, but this could also backfire and the Republicans will use this against him as they most likely would considering Mitt Romney is strongly opposed to same sex marriage. Also if he speaks up about this topic he may also be criticized for not talking about more pressing matters such our many international affairs. Right now Obama is choosing to just kind of ignore the issue and is not making any decisions regarding it. He did repeal 'don't ask, don't tell', and has stated that he feels you shouldn't have to hide who you love. It's pretty clear that Obama is not going to come out and say that he hates gays or somethings, so overall he has the general support of gays and lesbians even though many think he needs to address the issue of gay marriage to gain their support. If he doesn't address this issue right now I don't think it would be as detrimental as it would be if he did act on it. So it seems that for now he should just keep on doing what he's doing, because he already has a lot of support, and addressing this issue at this time is more likely to hurt him.
Reply
Jonathan Cazet
4/5/2012 02:14:19 pm
As November rolls around Obama is stuck in a position of supporting or not supporting same sex marriage. With the support of same sex marriage there would be a lot more voters, but he would loose many of his original voters and there for give more support to Romney for the upcoming election. Being that Romney is against gay marriage on-supporters would definitely vote on his side rather than Obama's. Although Obama is waiting to reveal any thoughts publicly until November, many of his party members seem to be pressuring him to add his approval to same sex marriage. Being neutral seems to be the best stance he could take at this moment, not threatening his re-election by any means. The danger being that he could upset his party members and stand alone on his beliefs. Obam's decision on the support or non-support for same sex marriage could definitely effect his outcome of supporters by the November elections as well.
Reply
Emily Butler
4/5/2012 03:49:14 pm
It seems that President Obama is being faced with having to give his opinion on either supporting same sex marriage or not supporting it. It seems that his opinion would either help him or not, but it will effect him in some way or another. Either he would get many more voters but lose some or it wouldn't help him because it would give the voters who haven't decided yet, a reason to support Romney in the upcoming election in November. His current strategy seems to be that his is going to wait and then state his thoughts to the public in November. Some of the dangers would be that he is upsetting some of his party members who seem to be pressuring him to add his approval. My advice would probably be that he could just be doing what he is doing now, and just wait till elections, since it seems now that he already has voters and support. But either way whatever his opinion is, it will effect him.
Reply
Janelle Borges
4/5/2012 04:28:33 pm
President Obama, come the November election, will be forced to reveal his opinion on gay marriage. He is torn because if he says he supports gay marriage, he will get more votes in the upcoming election from both the gay and lesbian community, and the rising amount of Americans that support gay marriage. These two groups are waiting on President Obama's opinion to possibly be swayed in a certain direction on who to vote for. But if he does announce that he supports it, it is known that the Republicans will use it against him later on. He knows also that if he supports it, it would give a great amount of his original voters that did not necessarily support gay marriage a reason to vote for Romney instead. Mitt Romney is extremely opposed to gay marriage, making it clear where he stands. However, the longer Obama keeps his opinion quiet, the more voters he is going to lose, because if people do not know where he stands on the issue, why vote for him if he puts off telling the nation where he stands? His current strategy seems to be waiting until elections to voice his opinion, but I feel that it would be a bad idea because he would lose a lot of voters if he waited that long to share his thoughts on the matter. I would say that he should voice his opinion now just to get it over with. Obama is still torn because if he says he opposes it, he loses all of the moderate and gay voters. If he supports it, he will get everyone but the extreme conservatives and other people who are flat out against it and will vote for Romney anyway. My strategy could be dangerous because it could cause him to either gain or lose a lot of voters, no matter what he says. It's a tough situation. All I can say is that I'm so glad I'm not in his shoes.
Reply
Ethan Behrens
4/5/2012 04:35:47 pm
Obama is facing the re-election soon and with that comes regaining the support of his fellow americans. One of the problems he has been faced with is gay rights and same sex marrige.All though it seems like he is a supporter,he has not yet told the general public so. Obama's current strategy on this seems to just support it in ways but not yet announce that he is a supporter of same sex marriage. he feels like that would push people to vote for Romney in the upcoming election for he is against gay marriage. This is a small problem since there is a chunk of the votes that comes from gay marriage supporters. In my opinion Obama supporting gay marriage would not effect his campaign and people would still support him. The reason for this is because the majority of people that support Obama also support gay Marriage.
Reply
Bryanna Barragan
4/5/2012 04:36:35 pm
Obama is in state where he is uncertain of gay marriage because in one part supporters want him to back up gay marriage and then the other part is being opposed of gay marriage. The reason which he is uncertain is mainly because he does not want to lose supporters or votes. Obama's strategy seems like he's not going to have a say in his position of gay marriage until the end of the election. I agree with Emily that Obama is upsetting some of his party members and pressuring him to have a say in gay marriage. My advice for Obama is that he should support gay marriage because he won't lose much supporters. There are more Americans supporting gay marriage than before, he has the support of the young voters which the majority of them support gay marriage, though the danger of it is that the elderly would probably oppose gay marriage and their vote is much more valuable than the young voters.
Reply
Gaby Calderon
4/6/2012 12:05:32 am
Now that elections are getting closer, Obama is facing the subject of gay marriage. Many of obama's avdocates argue that obama will pass the gay marriage bill making same- sex marriage legal, but they do not know if it will be before the november elections. Obama has yet to publicly touch base on his views since 2010, claim that his views were "evolving". Obama is not likely to speak about same- sex marriage prior to elections seeing as his main concern is the economy of the US, not so much its social issues because his main message could easily be misunderstood. Romney's strong stance against gay marriage could certainly sway voters to support Obama. However Obama is taking his time and waiting to inform voters on his stance although many party members seem to be pressuring him. Obama's revealing his stance in the near future could effect the results of the elections greatly, his current stance as being neutral is probably the best for now.
Reply
Samuel Chavez (GOOF)
4/6/2012 02:30:18 am
It was only a matter of time before Obama was faced with the subject of gay marriage and being that the elections are getting closer, it seems like his strategy of avoiding the topic has been a good one. My advice would be for him to prove that his views on gay marriage have "evolved" like it said in the article. Openly saying that he supports gay marriage can be a dangerous move because of the media's manipulation of words; their twisted but effective way of getting the public to think negatively about Obama. He must show that his views on gay marriage have in fact evolved though, in a way that won't jeapordize his election but also won't make him look like someone who isn't good on his word.
Reply
Maria Vittoria Gurrieri
4/19/2012 01:40:38 pm
One of the quandary that president Obama is facing right now relates to the right of marriage for gay couple. The president didn't express his opinion officialy yet and this is creating discussions about his possible re-election. From one side supporting gay marriage the President might get the support of the gay community, the majority of democratic voters and a large number of younger people. From the other side, Republicans that dislike Romney, but are more conservative, might not vote for Obama. It seems that the President is taking his time and trying to face this topic later than sooner, possibly after the elections of November. I think that it is time for the president to express his own opinion, because a lot of members of his party are pushing him. I don't think a decision about gay marriage could influence that much Obama's election, because in his campaign he is focusing on topics that right now look more urgent, like economics and health care.
Reply
Kenji Gutierrez
4/19/2012 01:52:20 pm
Obama was going to be asked sooner or later whether he was for or against gay marriage and it is hard to say whether it has been a good or bad choice. What I believe that Obama should say if e was forced to choose between both opinions is to oppose gay marriage because, more than likely, he will lose many votes from the older citizens. The older citizens have shown to oppose gay rights. Losing the senior citizens' votes would be very unfortunate for Obama because the senior citizens are the people that have nothing more to do than vote. Since senior citizens vote more than other age groups, they are much more valuable and could hurt the Obama administration. The smartest thing to do for now, though, is that which Obama has done, and that is to remain neutral or at least not make his views public. If he does not show his views he will more than likely not lose as many votes than if he does show his views because the people that oppose his views will not know them yet.
Reply
Gina Vosti
4/19/2012 02:11:27 pm
President Obama is being pressured to express his opinions towards same sex marriage. He stated previously that his old views against gay marriage were "evolving", but never gave much conclusion to the subject. Obama is faced with the issue of appeasing all his supporters. Showing his support, or lack of support, towards gay marriage would upset a significant amount of voters either way. Obama has already shown his support of items such as contraceptives, giving him the support of women voters, but he seems to be holding off until after the November elections to declare any stance on same sex marriage. This is a safe path for Obama, as it will not stir any controversy until after the election, but it may become problematic if he is reelected.
Reply
Desi Traverso
4/19/2012 02:21:01 pm
The quandary Obama is facing is whether or not to make his stance on gay marriage public before the November elections. There are pressures by both those who support him and oppose him, to reveal his "evolved" view on gay rights. However, doing this has its consequences. It could create a reason for the hesitant voters, who are still wavering, to have a reason to swing to Mitt Romney: These independent and reluctant voters will be key in winning the November elections. If Obama does not state his views on gay marriage he may be seen as wishy-washy. I think its a smarter idea to steer away from social issues in his campaign as much as possible and focus more on economic and international issues. The nation tends to over-react and magnify any social issue that comes up (i.e. contraceptives). Plus, I also believe that Obama's stance on gay rights has been foreshadows with movements such as his repeal of "don't ask, don't tell." There is of course a danger to any strategy, but if he has strong solutions and ideas for the economic and international problems, I think he should be alright.
Reply
Madison Simons
4/19/2012 02:41:43 pm
Obama is torn on whether or not to back gay marriage in the upcoming election, or to leave it out of his campaign all together. While backing it now would likely have no significant effect on his numbers, it would be a huge step for not only his platform, but Obama personally. After being opposed to gay marriage, it was in just 2010 when he stated that his view was "evolving." If he were to jump headlong into the issue of gay marriage, it would surprise me. He has shown no signs of hastiness on this issue in the past, and I can't see him doing that now, especially in the midst the November elections. Every step that he has taken so far has been well thought-out and deliberate. I feel that if he were to make such a big decision right now, it would come off as a campaign strategy to gain more support and an empty gesture. He should stick to his guns and make a decision on his own terms. If he can be pressured into making a decision now, then he doesn't have as strong a will of his own as I had thought.
Reply
Nick Harris
4/19/2012 03:09:28 pm
The dilemma that President Obama faces in the upcoming November elections is to affirm his unclear stance on the controversial political subject of gay marriage. This has posed as a looming issue ever since his opinion had been labeled as “evolving” back in 2010. But now that election time has rolled around its time for Obama to make a stark decision on his stance. By stating that he is supportive of gay marriage he will inevitably earn the votes of the gay community and a large portion of the youth that possess the liberal ideologies that accompanies the support of gay marriage. Although if Obama decides that his views on the subject have become negative then he will be losing a majority of the vote of the gay community. With this loss of votes Obama will be splitting the votes of the anti-gay marriage group with Republican competitor Mitt Romney. Supporting Gay marriage would give a clear advantage to President Obama instead of splitting the anti-gay votes with Romney. Though this strategy could have a pitfall, it could be argued that if Obama decides to oppose gay marriage he could split the anti-gay votes with Romney as well as win back some of the gay community’s votes with his other liberal ideals. By supporting gay marriage he would simply get the votes of the gay community and none from anti-gay conservatives.
Reply
Lucas Immer
4/19/2012 03:31:11 pm
President Obama currently faces the issue of being confronted on his opinion of gay rights and same sex marriage. As the general election approaches many are looking for a concrete stance on the issue, something he hasn't issued publicly since before he was originally elected president in 2008. His current strategy seems to be avoiding the question in favor of garnering support from the gay community in other ways, such as stressing his elimination of "Don't Ask Don't Tell". This strategy could be dangerous in that those who support gay rights may be looking for him to take a stand, however it is likely that these voters are on his side anyway, especially given Romney's position on the same issue. My advice would be to keep doing what he's doing because I doubt he'll lose any appreciable support from liberals by not taking a firm stance. I believe he supports gay marriage and always has and while I think it's unfortunate he's covered up his view, I understand that it's the way to get elected. The problem with my strategy is not that it risks the gay community voting republican (which is an oxymoronic notion) but simply that they won't vote at all. However, I believe he has gathered strong enough support from that voting bloc that he shouldn't worry about losing those votes and focus on addressing the economy and the budget. He should do his best to keep his firm stance close to the chest.
Reply
Milan R
4/19/2012 04:01:36 pm
Obama is facing a very serious problem as he battles for position as president of the US. He hasn't changed his hairstyle since before the 2008 election (he's been using the same stylist for 15 years) which could prove catastrophic for his campaign as Romney has a thick head of brown and silver studded hair. However, while this is a major issue, another pressing issue is Obama's position on gay marriage, or his lack thereof. Up to this point, Obama has maintained a somewhat neutral stance on the issue of gay marriage, making no open commitment, but still slightly leaning towards support on the issue. Obama has been in an ideal situation up until recently, as he possesses the total support of the gay community while making no enemies as a result of his state of supposed neutrality. However, all good things must end (except for his recurring haircut) and Obama has, as of late, been pressured by party mates such as speaker Pelosi to take a firm stance in support of the issue. I would advise Obama to go with a short afro to reaffirm his hipster status, along with maintaining his state of neutrality for as long as possible. While the last thing Obama's campaign wants is a democratic party in shambles, perhaps he can wait to take a firm stance on the issue of gay marriage until after he emerges victorious in the race. (Assuming he does)
Reply
Kyra Boselli
4/19/2012 04:11:50 pm
As the November elections draw near, the pressure being put on Obama to voice his opinion on gay marriage is mounting. While voicing his support could gain him the significant vote of same-sex marriage supporters, it could also detrimentally affect his chance of winning the swing vote, or Republican voters who have yet to decide between Obama and Romney. While pressure is even on from Democratic party members, such as Nancy Pelosi, the most politically sound strategy would likely be to hold off on this issue until after the November elections. Currently, Obama likely already has the support of same-sex marriage supporters, as Romney has publicly stated that he is against gay marriage. Therefore, Obama would only lose the key swing vote and undecided Republicans by publicly backing gay marriage at this time. While gay marriage is a social issue that needs to be addressed, saving his opinion until after November would secure Obama's second term in office. Until then, economic issues should be at the forefront of his campaign.
Reply
Adalberto Perez (Goof)
4/20/2012 03:39:45 am
The president Barack Obama could be
Reply
Natalie McMillan
4/25/2012 11:24:45 am
Because President Obama is up for re-election this coming November, it is important that he begins to address some social issues surrounding gay marriage. In the past, Obama has maintained a fairly neutral stance on the topic. He has supported things such as the repeal of "Don't Ask Don't Tell," but has not taken any major steps in legalizing gay marriage nationally. Obama's current strategy of basically avoiding discussion about gay rights has its pros and its cons. On the one hand, keeping gay rights issues out of his public debates, speeches, and so forth allows for potential republican and anti gay rights voters to be more likely to vote for him. On the other hand, it makes gay rights supporters think Obama will not do anything for these social rights if he is voted into another term. However, because his Republican opponent Mitt Romney has openly opposed gay rights, gay right supporters, in turn, will also support President Obama with their votes. If I were to give him any advice, I would say that he should just keep doing what he is doing. His ratings seem to be up and I believe that he will most likely win the re election. I think that any strategy surrounding gay rights will be a dangerous one because it is such a touchy topic right now, but I think his current strategy is the least dangerous and the most appealing to the general population.
Reply
Frani Gray
4/26/2012 09:43:52 am
In the article, "Obama could face election-year jam on gay marriage" published in the San Francisco Chronicle, Julie Pace focuses on the controversy President Obama is facing with his stance on gay marriage. In the past, he has claimed to be an opponent of gay marriage, but has quite recently stated his stance is evolving, and that is his last announcement to the public on his stance on gay marriage. Due to the fact that he is up for re-election this coming November, he must finally take an official side for his platform. His strategy of staying neutral on the subject, and avoiding all discussion, has potentially given him a few more votes from those against gay marriage, but once he takes a stance, the votes may alter. Although this can go both ways, the advocators for gay rights may lose interest in Obama's campaign because he seems to not be supporting them. Considering the fact that Obama's opponent Mitt Romeny, of the GOP, has taken a serious stance on gay rights, and has claimed to be completely against them, it is plausible that Obama may gain supporters advocating for gay rights against Romney. I would tell Obama to take a stance on the issue, and the most profitable for him would probably to be pro gay rights. The only thing he can really lose in doing this is supporters who are against gay rights. In my opinion, those who are against gay rights most likely have the same beliefs and values as the Republican, Romeny, and would probably be voting for him anyways. I think we live in a time where more and more people are becoming comfortable enough with their sexuality to show it, and for them to not have the same rights of others of a different sexuality is not fair so Obama should support gay rights to gain more supporters and more of the vote.
Reply
Victor Fernandez
4/26/2012 01:32:19 pm
The article depicting Obama's inconclusive decision of either supporting gay rights or being against it has caused him to make his stance on the issue unclear. This is confusing to the public; and considering he is up for relection later in the year, he could possibly be facing only the support of the anti gay rights group, which might damage his chances of being relected. But by neither standing for, nor opposed, Obama is portrayed to be neutral about his decision, which could also benefit him. Continuing this stance might would be dangerous, and I would advise him to make his point clear for whether he supports gay rights or not, but also considering his competitor Mitt Romney is against gay rights leads to the question of whether or not his change of stance would even affect his chances of winning dramatically?
Reply
Kelly Gutierrez
4/26/2012 03:25:15 pm
Due to the fact that Obama is up for re-election this year, many people want to know where he stands concerning gay marriage. Although stating his position will help Obama gain supporters and loose supporters, it is important that he states his opinion and where he stands. The reason behind the problem Obama faces is that it is a controversial subject. There are people who strongly support it and people who strongly oppose it. In this day and age, I believe this issue has to be approached from a human rights perspective. Everyone should have the right to love whom they wish without having to feel "different." Everyone should deserve the right to feel equally entitled to love and marry whom they wish. As mentioned in the article, previous social issues earlier this year seem to emphasize and reinforce the stressful position he stands in. I think it is an issue Obama is going to have to face very soon since it is something of high concern.
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
Mr. LPart teacher/part entertainer/ part coach/ part task master Archives
November 2014
Categories |