QuoteAs I did with Hillary Clinton, I give Obama a pass when he says he is opposed to gay marriage but supports civil unions because hey, he has to get elected. But I do this with the strong suspicion that Obama and a lot of other progressive politicians are leaning towards if not already inclined to support full marriage equality but are in want of some political cover. In short, I don't believe they're morally opposed to the idea.
In the meantime Obama's statement, with a little tweaking, is exactly how progressive pols should frame the issue of marriage equality; especially once a few more states legalize it and the GLBT and allied community start holding their feet to the fire.
For it is a civil rights issue, and affording those rights to committed same sex couples will in no way impact negatively on anyone's matrimonial bliss. If it does, there was something rotten with the union in the first place.