The Coveted Jersey Shore Endorsement

This past week, as everyone not currently residing under a rock is aware, President Barack Obama stood up and announced his stance on the subject of gay marriage. By some accounts, this decision was nearly as gutsy as the call to raid Osama Bin Laden’s Headquarters. By other accounts, it was more of a scramble than a decision.

Ellen DeGeneres applauded the President for his bravery, as did other openly gay stars Neil Patrick Harris and Ricky Martin. “It takes a brave man to take a stand like this, especially in an election year,” Ellen gushed on her live talk show.

Liberal online rag The Gawker, in stark contrast, berated him for his cowardice, saying that his “personal position” statement amounted to nothing more than a “half-assed, cowardly cop out.”

So which is it? Is it bravery? It is true that many black voters who voted for Obama in 2008, and who also voted 70-30 in favor ofCalifornia’s Prop 8 banning same-sex marriage, are not thrilled with the position he has taken.  It is also true that some in the LGBT community feel that his personal position is not enough, and that he should be willing to make same-sex marriage officially part of the DNC platform. Given those facts, he is likely to take some heat over the announcement.

Is it cowardice? Was the President backed into a corner by the constantly running mouth of VP Joe Biden? Did he make this announcement in an election year as a last desperate grasp at the socially liberal independents whose votes seem to be ever hemorrhaging rightward?

Obama’s history suggests that his current position is more “revolving” than “evolving,” as he came out in support of gay marriage as earlyas 1996. His public position was changed to “evolving” during the 2008 election, when he had to draw in social conservatives to win a national nomination and the subsequent general election. Why the Hollywood elite are so quick to label an obviously political move as “bravery” requires some head-scratching.

Perhaps a tie-breaker is necessary? Saying that Obama’s statement concerning gay marriage came “better late than never,” Snooki and JWoww of MTV’s The Jersey Shore proudly rallied behind the President. I suppose it’s too much to ask that either one of them were aware of his 1996 statement.

Mr. President: if an endorsement from The Jersey Shore can be viewed as helpful in any way, America is in worse shape than I thought. After all, even clothing giant Abercrombie and Fitch offered fellow Jersey Shore resident The Situation financial compensation for NOT displayingtheir products on the show.