Vice Pres Joe Biden: “comfortable” with marriage equality
Vice President Joe Biden became the highest-ranking official in the Obama administration to signal support for same-sex marriage on Sunday during an interview with “Meet The Press.”
Biden stopped just a touch short from outright saying that he backs marriage equality. But the implication was beyond clear that he has completed the so-called evolution on gay marriage that President Obama has yet to finish.
“And you’re comfortable with same-sex marriage now?” “Meet the Press” host David Gregory asked.
“I am vice president of the United States of America,” Biden replied. “The president sets the policy. I am absolutely comfortable with the fact that men marrying men, women marrying women, and heterosexual men and women marrying another are entitled to the same exact rights, all the civil rights, all the civil liberties. And quite frankly, I don’t see much of a distinction– beyond that.”
A spokesperson for the vice president emailed over further clarification on the “Meet the Press” remarks, stating in part that Biden had not fully endorsed same-sex marriage.
“The vice president was saying what the president has said previously – that committed and loving same-sex couples deserve the same rights and protections enjoyed by all Americans, and that we oppose any effort to rollback those rights. That’s why we stopped defending the constitutionality of section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act in legal challenges and support legislation to repeal it. Beyond that, the Vice President was expressing that he too is evolving on the issue, after meeting so many committed couples and families in this country.”
LGBT Advocacy groups responded:
“I’ve known Vice President Biden since interning for him in the Senate in 1976. The personal and thoughtful way he has spoken about his coming to support the freedom to marry reflects the same journey that a majority of Americans have now made as they’ve gotten to know gay families, opened their hearts and changed their minds. President Obama should join the Vice President, former Presidents Clinton and Carter, former Vice Presidents Gore and Cheney, Laura Bush, and so many others in forthright support for the freedom to marry.” – Evan Wolfson, president of Freedom To Marry.
“We are encouraged by Vice President Biden’s comments, who rightly articulated that loving and committed gay and lesbian couples should be treated equally. Now is the time for President Obama to speak out for full marriage equality for same-sex couples.” – Human Rights Campaign
Mitt Romney says US should be adding 500K jobs a month which has only happened 4 times in 50 years
The American economy added 115,000 jobs in April, and while that number fell well short of expectations, it represents the 26th consecutive month of private sector job growth. Remember, when President Obama took office the country was losing 800,000 jobs a month. While disappointing, we are at least not losing jobs today.
Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney appeared on Fox & Friends minutes after the release of the report to say that the economy should be growing at a much faster pace. The economy should be adding more than 500,000 jobs a month, Romney said:
ROMNEY: We should be seeing numbers in the 500,000 jobs created per month. This is way, way off from what should happen in a normal recovery.
Romney’s call for 500,000 jobs a month would certainly make for a faster economic recovery. I’d love to see it happen.
However, that sort of growth is hardly “normal,” as Romney claims.
There have only been 16 months since 1939 — and only four in the last 50 years — in which the economy added 500,000 jobs or more.
Read more at ThinkProgress
CNN: Why Obama can’t match the Reagan recovery
CNN has an excellent piece up today regarding the differences between what economic pressures President Reagan had to cope with versus President Obama today. Conservatives like to herald Reagan as a super-president, but comparing his situation at this point in his first term to President Obama’s is comparing apples to oranges.
From CNN:
Reagan had an advantage over Obama: The recession of the early 1980s was caused by runaway inflation, which the Federal Reserve countered by hiking interest rates. When inflation dropped, the Fed lowered rates and a massive economic boom resulted.
The major causes of the recent recession were a banking crisis and housing bubble that exploded during President George W. Bush’s final months in office.
Another difference: With comparatively small debt loads, Reagan was able to push through a 23% across-the-board cut of individual income tax rates. Obama, meanwhile, entered the presidency with substantial budget deficits and an economy contracting at a rate of 6.7%.
Something that doesn’t come up in the CNN article but I think bears noting: politics in 1984 were not nearly as partisan as they are today. Back in the 80s “compromise” was not a dirty word. Politicians were more statesman-like and put country first.
From the beginning of the Obama administration, the GOP in DC has stated their main goal for four years was to make President Obama a one term president. And they have done all they could to stop any progress in the US knowing that, even at the pain of the lower and middle classes, if they held progress to a minimum – while cashing their $170,000+ annual salaries – they would diminish President Obama’s chances at reelection.
Read the whole article at CNN.com
Campaign 2012: Swiss Bank Account
From President Obama – “Forward”
The video outlines the challenges America faced as President Obama took office at the height of the worst recession in almost a century and details the progress that has been made reclaiming the security of the middle class and building an economy that’s meant to last, where hard work pays and responsibility is rewarded.
Well done. And always nice to see facts…
Mitt Romney: “Borrow from your parents”
Mitt Romney’s advice to young people who want to start a business: Borrow money from your parents.
At a “lecture” for students at Otterbein University in Ohio today, Mitt Romney told students that, his friend, Jimmy John, started a business by borrowing $20,000 from his parents at a low interest rate. Romney suggested anyone in the audience could do the same:
This kind of devisiveness, this attack of success, is very different than what we’ve seen in our country’s history. We’ve always encouraged young people: Take a shot, go for it, take a risk, get the education, borrow money if you have to from your parents, start a business.
This shows how out of touch with middle America Mitt Romney is. He assumes everyone’s parents have $20,000 of disposable income laying around to loan their children.
I know Mitt’s dad had money – whether he gave any to Mitt or not, Mitt seems to think everyone has at least that laying around.
Another strike out Mitt.
Adam Levine of Maroon 5 on the 2012 election
Campaign ad: “One Chance”
I know how I feel about President Obama making the call to capture Osama bin Laden. How about you?
As VP Joe Biden said “Bin Laden is dead, GM is alive.”
And there you have it.