Like sands through the hourglass, so are the irrelevant issues of Campaign 2012. Yesterday, ABC News interrupted the longest-running American soap opera currently in production (General Hospital), to bring us the latest episode in another made-for-TV drama: President Obama’s constantly evolving relationship with the gay community. Does Obama love his gay supporters as much as they love him? Will he finally acknowledge their feelings? How far will he go to support them? Tune in to ABC at 3 PM EST to find out!!!
And so it came to pass that at approximately 3:02 PM EST on May 9, 2012, a pre-taped interview was aired in which Obama told ABC News’ Robin Roberts that, “I’ve just concluded that for me personally it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same sex couples should be able to get married.”
And Obama’s liberal base went wild. The New York Times reports: “Norman Lear, the television producer, said moments after the announcement that he and his wife, Lyn, who had held back from giving money to Mr. Obama, would now contribute the maximum allowed, $80,000 between them. ‘This is the kind of leadership we support, and we are happy to max out today to his re-election campaign,’ he said.” The Lear’s were not alone. BuzzFeed also reported that the Democratic National Committee reported $1 million in spontaneous contributions in the first 90 minutes after the interview aired.
But outside of the ultra-wealthy in Washington, Hollywood, and New York, does anybody else in America care about this issue at all? Nope. Just last month Pew asked voters to identify which issues were “very important” to their vote. The top three issues? The “economy,” “jobs,” and the “budget deficit.” Guess what issue came in dead last behind birth control and immigration? “Gay marriage.” Only a fully-employed, fat and happy, media/entertainment echo chamber could devote this much time and energy to an issue that the rest of America could care less about.
Campaign 2012
Romney: After a Colorado television reporter asked Mitt Romney questions about same-sex marriage and medical marijuana, Romney challenged her, “Aren’t there issues of significance that you’d like to talk about?”
Ohio: A new Quinnipiac University poll released today shows Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel has cut Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown’s lead to just six points, 46 percent to 40 percent. The same poll shows Obama narrowly beating Romney in the state 45 percent to 44 percent.
The Wall Street Journal, Tea Party Patriots Take in $12.2 Million: Tea Party Patriots reported raising $12.2 million for the year ended May 31, 2011. That vaults them into the ranks of some of the most successful conservative activist groups, including FreedomWorks, the Club for Growth and Americans for Tax Reform.
Around the Bigs
Gallup, One in Three Young U.S. Workers Are Underemployed: Thirty-two percent of 18- to 29-year-olds in the U.S. workforce were underemployed in April, as measured by Gallup without seasonal adjustment. This is up from 30.1% in March and is slightly higher than the 30.7% of a year ago.
The Wall Street Journal, How a Radical Greek Rescue Plan Fell Short: Two years after Europe bailed Greece out to protect the euro, the rescue has become a debacle that threatens to unravel the common currency.
The Washington Post, Fannie Mae has received about $116 billion: Mortgage giant Fannie Mae reported a $2.7 billion profit for the first three months of the year. They lost $2.4 billion last quarter and have received $116 billion in taxpayer bailouts.
Righty Playbook
Mark Perry notes that while the rest of Europe was raising taxes and sinking into a double-dip recession, Sweden cut taxes and had the continent’s fastest growth.
AEI‘s Scott Gottlieb analysis how Obamacare will squeeze the middle class.
In The Wall Street Journal, Karl Rove says that Hispanics are key to winning Virginia and the 2012 election.
Lefty Playbook
Talking Points Memo‘s Eric Kleefeld looks at how Democrats plan to defeat Richard Mourdock in Indiana.
The Washington Post‘s Sarah Kliff details how Obamacare created a brand new doc fix problem.
Mother Jones‘ David Corn, The Washington Post‘s E.J. Dionne, and The Huffington Post‘s Howard Fineman all mourn the loss of Sen. Dick Lugar, R-Ind., a man they all wanted to see lose to a Democrat in November anyway.
