May. 10, 2012

The fallout from President Obama’s announcement Wednesday that he backs gay marriage:

• Nationwide polling shows support for gay marriage outweighs opposition, according to genius pollster Nate Silver.
• House Republicans voted to add an amendment to a $51.1 billion spending bill that prohibits the Justice Department from using taxpayer dollars in any future fight against the anti-gay rights Defense of Marriage Act. Which means the Obama administration’s hands are essentially tied as far as opposing DOMA.
• Mitt Romney toed the GOP line: “My view is that marriage itself is between a man and a woman.” He said Wednesday that he still believes states should be able to decide whether to offer certain legal rights to same-sex couples.
• In the first 90 minutes after news of Obama’s position surfaced, spontaneous donations to his campaign totaled $1 million.
• Some argue that Obama’s announcement is BS. “He now believes that gay couples should be able to marry. He doesn’t believe they have a right to do so,” points out Aaron Cook, writing for Gawker.
• Log Cabin Republicans, the gay arm of the GOP, gripes ”that the president has chosen today, when LGBT Americans are mourning the passage of Amendment One, to finally speak up for marriage equality is offensive and callous.”
• Obama breaks his silence on Vice President Biden:  ”He probably got out a little bit over his skis.”
• Jon Stewart throws a party on The Daily Show.
• The “Jeep Party” scene from Zoolander beats out the competition for the No. 1 GIF.
• Twitter — predictably — explodes.