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Washington News
Lawmakers, Analysts Ponder Political Effects Of Obama's Gay Marriage Support President Obama's endorsement of same-sex marriage continued to dominate media coverage of the political arena this weekend. Newsweek's cover story, titled "The First Gay President" and featuring a photo of the President crowned with a rainbow-colored halo, set the tone for extended political discussion of Obama's decision on the Sunday morning political talk shows. The consensus among commentators was that while the issue is not likely to sway significant numbers of voters -- nor be a major issue in the fall campaign -- it could work against the President in socially conservative swing states in the Midwest and in Virginia.
The Newsweek story itself is generating press coverage this morning. The New York Daily News reports that in a "battle for most controversial cover of the week, Newsweek fired back at Time magazine's now-infamous breastfeeding mom image," and notes that the cover story was "written by openly gay Newsweek contributor Andrew Sullivan." The Christian Science Monitor notes that in addition to Newsweek, "the New Yorker cover picks up on the rainbow theme – shown as multi-hued White House columns – in what it's calling its 'Spectrum of Light' cover. Both magazines hit newsstands Monday." In the Huffington Post's account, Newsweek "is celebrating...Obama's" move, featuring an image of the President "looking quite angelic with a rainbow-colored halo above his head (or as a HuffPost editor affectionately dubbed it -- a 'gaylo')." Politico , Daily Caller and The Hill also ran online reports last night on the Newsweek cover.
As the CBS Evening News reported, "Four days after President Obama gave his support for same-sex marriage the issue dominated many political and religious discussions this Sunday." CBS (Whitaker) added that "ever since...Obama endorsed same-sex marriage last week and Mitt Romney his presumed Republican opponent restated his support for traditional heterosexual marriage, pundits have been trying to predict the political fallout. ... While polls show growing public support for same-sex marriage, the real election battle this November will be in crucial swing states where GOP strategist Mark McKinnon says support is weaker." Mark McKinnon, GOP strategist: "It's arguably a loser in the polling done last couple days that show 23% of Independents and 10% of Democrats say it makes them less likely to vote for the President."
Norah O'Donnell said on CBS' Face The Nation, "I think the Vice President sort of got ahead of himself, in announcing what was an Administration policy. Administration aides were very open about expressing their frustration with Vice President Biden for doing that. ... But on the policy issue of same-sex marriage, I don't think in the end it's going to be determinative in this election. The economy and jobs is still important." Yet for now, AFP reports, "the election's ultimately decisive theme -- the stuttering economy -- has been drowned out."
The AP , for example, reports that "across the Republican Party, from leaders to activists interviewed since Obama's announcement, there's been wide agreement to use the gay marriage issue selectively -- in battleground states that have banned gay marriage, for example -- and keep the GOP's national political focus on Obama's stewardship of the economy." Another AP dispatch, meanwhile, notes that "Obama has seen an uptick in fundraising since he announced his shift on gay marriage," though "Obama's campaign has declined to say how much it has collected since the announcement."
Roll Call reports that on TV yesterday, "Democrats argued Obama's decision to go public with his feelings on the issue was not a political calculation, while Republicans, before pivoting to the economy, said the president's announcement was both a flip-flop and an attempt to distract voters from his record."
The Washington Times reports, "While many Republicans consider the sudden emergence of gay marriage as an issue in the 2012 presidential campaign an unhelpful distraction, social conservatives Sunday insisted the Obama administration has given presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney an opportunity." For example, Ralph Reed said on ABC's This Week, "Where are the voters when they go to the polls? If you look at Ohio, the marriage amendment passed by 62%, more than it did in North Carolina. Florida, swing state, 62%. ... This president is going to be on the ballot in hard-fought swing states, and he's going to be out of touch and out of sync with those voters."
Gallup Poll: Public Backs Obama's Position 51%-45% USA Today reports, "More than half of Americans say they approve of...Obama's stance that same-sex couples should be allowed to marry legally, but 60% say his shift in position will have no bearing on how they'll vote in the November election, according to a new USA TODAY/Gallup Poll." The poll shows "51% approve of Obama's new position on same-sex marriage, compared with 45% who disapprove."
Obama Reached Out To African-American Pastors On Wednesday On its front page, the New York Times reports that underscoring "the anxiety among Mr. Obama's advisers about the consequences of the president's revised position," Obama "and his team" followed his "politically charged announcement" embarking "on a quiet campaign to contain the possible damage among religious leaders and voters." The Times recounts that "about two hours after declaring his support for same-sex marriage last week...Obama gathered eight or so African-American ministers on a conference call to explain himself."
African-American Churches Reportedly Split USA Today reports, "The pulpits of the nation's black churches took measure Sunday of...Obama's decision to support gay marriage, and the result was conflicted." While "some churches were silent on the issue," some pastors "spoke against the president's decision," and others "blasted the president and his decision. A minority spoke in favor of the decision and expressed understanding of the president's change of heart."
Lawmakers Urge Criminal Charges Over Leak Of Bomb Plot Information The Wall Street Journal reports that top lawmakers are calling for criminal charges against the person who leaked classified information concerning the thwarted Yemeni plot to bomb a US-bound airliner. Rep. Mike Rogers, chairman of the House Permanent House Select Committee on Intelligence said his staff is conducting a preliminary review of the leak and may open "either a full-blown committee investigation or we will refer to criminal charges to the FBI."
Politico reports in its "Politico Live" blog that Rogers described the leak as "'chest-thumping' by someone in the Obama administration."
The Daily Caller reports that Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein, speaking on Fox News Sunday, called the leak "serious," adding, "This leak essentially - well, this operation - was closely held. It was CIA, FBI, Homeland Security and TSA. So, a limited number of people knew about it. General procedure would have the chairman and the vice chairman of each [of the] intelligence committees briefed during the attack, or prior to it. This was not the case, there was no briefing." Feinstein added that whoever leaked the information "should be prosecuted, because the leak jeopardized the government's ability to fight terrorism."
Rep. Peter King also expressed concern about the leak on CNN's State of the Union Sunday, Politico reports in its "Politico Live" blog. On the same program, Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Sen. Joe Lieberman said discovery of the plot "shows the strength of US operations."
The Washington Times reports that Feinstein and King applauded "the mission's success" but "expressed outrage that details of the operation were made public even before top lawmakers knew, saying the leak could discourage foreign intelligence agencies from working with the US on crucial anti-terrorism efforts."
Economists Predict Slight Growth In 2012 The Wall Street Journal reports that economists predict that US economic growth will be so slight this year that it will have only a slight impact on unemployment. The economists surveyed predict slow growth in 2012 with GDP remaining below 3%. They also predict that the chances for another recession over the next 12 months are remote. The Journal adds that 70% of those surveyed said their predictions are more likely to be too optimistic that too pessimistic.
Analysis: 230,000 Unemployed Will Have Lost Benefits This Past Weekend A new analysis by the National Employment Law Project says more than "230,000 unemployed workers will lose their jobless benefits this weekend as portions of federal programs expire across several states," The Hill reported in its "On the Money" blog. According to the analysis, "All told, 409,300 long-term unemployed Americans in 27 states will have lost upward of 20 weeks of federal unemployment benefits by this past Saturday, even as the many state jobless rates remain high."
Skills Gap Laves As Many As One Million Jobs Unfilled Nationwide The CBS Evening News reported, "Even with unemployment at 8.1%, as many as a million manufacturing jobs remain unfilled nationwide, according to a study by the accounting firm Deloitte and Touche." CBS added, "The main problem, a massive skills gap. Job openings but not enough properly trained workers to fill them."
Campaign News
Evangelical Leaders Applaud Romney's Liberty University Speech Politico reported, "Evangelical leaders praised Mitt Romney's speech" Saturday "at Liberty University, saying the Mormon candidate was right to acknowledge his religious differences with other Christian voters."
Perkins said on CNN's State Of The Union, "This was a great opportunity for Mitt Romney to go to Liberty University, the largest Christian university in the world, and be able to speak to these issues, and I think he hit just the right tone. He did talk about the differences. And you can't gloss over the theological differences between the Mormon faith and evangelicals, but he zeroed in on the common values."
The Christian Science Monitor reported that Romney's Saturday speech at Liberty University "could turn out to be one of the most important in his campaign. And by all accounts he said just the right things needed to nail down this critical segment of his conservative base."
The Wall Street Journal reports that Gary Bauer, who had backed Rick Santorum in the GOP presidential primary, praised Romney's speech and said, "Mitt Romney will do very well among Christians."
However, USA Today says that Romney's address "at Liberty University this weekend dealt with issues of faith and spirituality in a broad sense, an approach that raises questions about how far he needs to go in discussing his Mormon faith this election cycle." During his first run for president, Romney "gave a speech about Mormonism that was compared to the one given by John Kennedy about Catholicism in 1960. Some in the Christian community say it is a mistake not to reiterate that message now."
Obama Using Equal Pay Issue To Shore Up Lead Among Women Bloomberg News reports that President Obama is using the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and the issue of equal pay for women "to shore up his lead among women." The Act "was the first piece of legislation he signed into law when he took office in 2009, and its namesake is now campaigning for his re-election." Bloomberg notes, "Female voters made up 53 percent of the electorate in 2008 and Obama carried their vote by 13 points. Obama led presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney 49 to 39 percent among women, according to an April 11 - 17 Quinnipiac University survey of 2,577 registered voters." Bloomberg also reports that the Romney campaign "is seeking to shift the focus from Ledbetter to economic troubles women are experiencing under Obama."
Women Making Fewer Employment Gains Than Men In the Time "Curious Capitalist" column, Rana Foroohar examines whether men or women are benefitting or suffering more in the tepid recovery. April's employment numbers "show that women gained 73% of the 115,000 new jobs added to the US economy." The figures "would seem to be welcome news for the Obama Administration, which has been battling accusations by Republican challenger Mitt Romney that the President's economic policies have hurt women," but since the "recovery began in June 2009, women have gained only 16% of the new jobs created."
Blackburn: 858,000 Women Lost Their Jobs Under Obama Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R) said on ABC's This Week, "We've got nearly 858,000 women that have lost their jobs under this President. And you have women that are concerned about the loss in household income under this president, nearly $4,000 per household. Those are the issues that are first and foremost in front of people, is making certain that jobs and the economy is the focus."
Tracking Polls Split The latest edition of the Gallup daily presidential tracking poll shows President Obama leading Mitt Romney 46%-45%, unchanged from the previous day. The poll surveyed about 3,050 registered voters from May 6-12.
The Rasmussen Reports daily tracker shows Romney leading Obama 48%-44%. That poll surveyed 1,500 likely voters from May 10-12.
Meanwhile, a Washington Times /JZ Analytics survey of 800 likely voters taken May 11-12 shows Romney leading Obama 43.6%-43.2%.
Peter Hart Says Election "No Better Than A 50-50 Proposition" For Obama The Los Angeles Times reports veteran Democratic pollster Peter Hart "has just sent out his preview of the 2012 election, now less than six months away. His assessment may come as a rude surprise to those in his party who are feeling bullish about President Obama's chances." Hart concludes, "This election is no better than a 50-50 proposition for the president."
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