Wednesday, May 9, 2012

The Shape of Things to Come

Today, President Obama endorsed the concept of same-sex marriage.  Doing so, the President not only provided hope to the millions of people in the LGBT community, but highlighted an important distinction between himself and Romney.

Romney's response to Obama's groundbreaking announcement has been deemed timid.  But of course it is.  While Obama infuriates his supporters (like me) by leading from the rear, he knows he can move quickly to the front any time he wants to because his supporters desperately want him to do so.  And when he finally takes the lead, it leaves supporters absolutely breathless.

Romney, by contrast, isn't a leader in his own party.  At best, he represents the business wing of the party, but even there, there are people like Paul Ryan who are well out in front of Romney.  When it comes to social issues, Romney has to literally wait and see what other people say.  That's what we're seeing with same-sex marriage. If Santorum or Gingrich was the nominee, they would have moved on the issue immediately - Romney can't because he has no credibility with the base.

As Obama begins to lead the troops (and a fair number of us want to be lead), you will see this contrast over and over again, particularly as it becomes clearer and clearer that Obama can burnish his leadership credentials, while leaving Romney in the dust.

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