memeorandum: Black voters remain divided on gay marriage (Joseph Williams/Politico)

11:25 AM ET, May 10, 2012

Top Items:

Seung Min Kim / Politico:

House strikes back on gay marriage — Just hours after President Barack Obama publicly backed gay marriage, the House struck back and passed a measure aimed at reinforcing the Defense of Marriage Act. — With a 245-171 vote, the House voted to stop the Justice Department from using taxpayer funds …

Discussion: CNN, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, ThinkProgress, americanthinker.com and Gawker

Adam Nagourney / New York Times:

News Analysis: Obama's Watershed Move on Gay Marriage — President Obama's endorsement of gay marriage on Wednesday was by any measure a watershed. A sitting United States president took sides in what many people consider the last civil rights movement, providing the most powerful evidence …

Discussion: Washington Wire, Politico, Los Angeles Times, Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal, msnbc.com, theGrio, ABCNEWS, GOP 12, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, Washington Post, The BLT, Marginal Revolution and Towleroad News #gay

Rick Klein / Yahoo! Good Morning America:

President Obama Affirms His Support for Same Sex Marriage — President Obama today announced that he now supports same-sex marriage, reversing his longstanding opposition amid growing pressure from the Democratic base and even his own vice president. In an interview with ABC News' Robin Roberts …

Discussion: Firedoglake, ABCNEWS, The Huffington Post, Washington Post, Slate, Campaign Stops, Yahoo! News, CNN, New York Magazine, The Heritage Foundation, Roger L. Simon, Mother Jones, Politicker, National Review, Towleroad News #gay, americanthinker.com, slacktivist, CANNONFIRE, Weasel Zippers, New York Times, New Yorker, The Greenroom, DownWithTyranny!, Politico, Public Discourse, Truthdig, blogs.telegraph.co.uk, PoliticusUSA, SEIU.org, The Reaction, NO QUARTER, Outside the Beltway, Viewpoint with Eliot Spitzer, msnbc.com, Freedom to Marry Blog, The Democratic Daily, Newsy, The Mental Recession, Weekly Standard, The Daily Caller, TIME Ideas, TVNewser, GayPatriot, ACS Blog, The Maddow Blog, Business Insider, American Prospect, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Hot Air, White House.gov Blog, The Gateway Pundit, Ezra Klein, his vorpal sword, Instapundit, The Other McCain, Mediaite, Washington Wire, Poynter, Power Line, Gawker, The BRAD BLOG, Eclectablog, Crooks and Liars, Boing Boing, Campaign 2012, Prop 8 Trial Tracker, DISSENTING JUSTICE, Stinque and ThinkProgress, more at Mediagazer »

Politico:

Biden blamed; politics drove timing — Joe Biden just might go down in history as the guy who forced Barack Obama to publicly announce his private support for gay marriage. — But the vice president is no hero in the West Wing, and administration officials are struggling to cast Obama's truly historic …

Discussion: Salon, The New Republic, Washington Post, Taylor Marsh, The Moderate Voice, US Politics, Mediaite and CNN

Daniel Halper / Weekly Standard:

Obama on Biden: ‘Got Out a Little Bit Over His Skis’ — Vice President Joe Biden is at least part of the reason President Barack Obama came out in favor of same sex marriage yesterday, the president admitted in the interview on the issue with ABC's Robin Roberts:

Discussion: Althouse and Instapundit

Elliott Abrams / Weekly Standard:

‘On My Behalf’ — The debate over same sex “marriage” has engaged the heartfelt feelings and convictions of millions of Americans. Then there is Barack Obama. — In his ABC interview, the president pretended that his much touted “evolution” had now led him, ineluctably, to speak out now, today; he simply could longer stay silent.

Discussion: American Spectator, The Daily Caller, The Gateway Pundit, Right Wing News and American Power

Dylan Byers / Politico:

Why ABC's Robin Roberts got the exclusive — For President Barack Obama's ground-breaking interview on gay marriage, the White House turned to a friendly face - ABC's Robin Roberts. — She's a respected journalist who knows both Barack and Michelle Obama well, isn't regarded as a difficult …

Discussion: The Right Scoop, TVNewser, Washington Free Beacon and ABCNEWS

Media Matters / Media Matters for America:
Fox Nation: “OBAMA FLIP FLOPS, DECLARES WAR ON MARRIAGE”

Discussion: American Prospect, Booman Tribune, Business Insider, PoliticusUSA, Mediaite, Advocate, New York Magazine and US Politics

Zeke Miller / BuzzFeed:
Gay Marriage Reversal Means Cash For Obama

Discussion: The Huffington Post, Politico, The Maddow Blog, Prop 8 Trial Tracker, New York Magazine, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Obsidian Wings, americanthinker.com, Business Insider, Right Wing News, New York Times, Daily Kos, JOSHUAPUNDIT, Towleroad News #gay and The Lonely Conservative

John Cook / Gawker:
Barack Obama's Bulls**t Gay Marriage Announcement

Discussion: Hit & Run, The Agitator, Poliglot, Slate, GayPatriot, Human Events, American Prospect, Shot in the Dark, ABCNEWS, Politico, The Huffington Post, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times and Towleroad News #gay

Joseph Williams / Politico:
Black voters remain divided on gay marriage

Discussion: Slate, Addicting Info, Weasel Zippers, Hot Air and CNN

Cameron Joseph / Ballot Box:
Top social conservative worried the right may lose on gay marriage

Discussion: CNN, Washington Monthly, The Moderate Voice, The New Republic, Politico, The Caucus, Reuters and BuzzFeed

Steve Clemons / The Atlantic Online:
Bring It On: Obama Rallies the Base With Gay Marriage Endorsement

Discussion: ABCNEWS and Politico

Rush Limbaugh:
Obama Declares War on Traditional America

Discussion: Good As You and Poynter

Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:
Obama Lets Go Of Fear

Discussion: Townhall.com, The New Republic and No More Mister Nice Blog

Matthew Dowd / The Huffington Post:
The Facts: Gay Marriage Didn't Tilt 2004 Election

Discussion: Weekly Standard, ABCNEWS and The New Republic

Log Cabin Republicans:
Obama Announcement Is Cold Comfort to LGBT Americans

Discussion: The Huffington Post, ThinkProgress, The Daily Dish, Addicting Info, Firedoglake, Gay Politics, Hot Air, ABCNEWS, SEIU.org, Mediaite, Daily Kos, rightwingwatch.org and Politico

Ta-Nehisi Coates / The Atlantic Online:
Obama Evolves

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money and Master Feed

Ronald Brownstein / 2012 Decoded:
Obama's Gay Marriage Leap of Faith

Discussion: msnbc.com, American Power, THEROOT.COM, blogs.telegraph.co.uk, Erick's blog and NationalJournal.com

GOProud, Inc.:
GOProud Statement on President Obama's Remarks Regarding Marriage Equality

Discussion: Washington Post, American Power and The Huffington Post

Dan Eggen / Washington Post:
The Influence Industry: Same-sex marriage issue shows importance of gay fundraisers

KDVR.com is the website for KDVR Television …:
Romney in Colorado: “I do not favor civil unions”

Discussion: Rumproast, Yahoo! News, The New Republic, CNN, Poliglot, ABCNEWS, Ballot Box, New York Magazine, Business Insider, The Hill, Human Rights Campaign, The Caucus, CBS News, The Hill and BuzzFeed

Erick Erickson / Erick's blog:
A Terrible, No Good, Awful Night for Barack Obama

Discussion: PoliticusUSA, Weekly Standard and American Spectator

Jason Horowitz / Washington Post:

Mitt Romney's prep school classmates recall pranks, but also troubling incidents — BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich. — Mitt Romney returned from a three-week spring break in 1965 to resume his studies as a high school senior at the prestigious Cranbrook School. Back on the handsome campus …

CNN:

TRENDING: Obama hits Romney with ‘Etch A Sketch’ — (CNN) - President Barack Obama labeled presumptive challenger Mitt Romney's comments that took credit for the auto industry's recovery as an “Etch A Sketch moment.” — “I think this is one of his Etch A Sketch moments.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

BuzzFeed:

How Barack Obama Lost Hollywood — Last time they fell in love, volunteered, gave millions, but now “they hate him.” Can gay pride and a Clooney bash make his star twinkle again? — Source: flickr.com — LOS ANGELES, Calif. — On Tuesday night, comedian Jon Lovitz stood in the green room …

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon

New York Times:
Obama's New Courting of Hollywood Pays Off

Discussion: The Caucus

CNN:
Dinner with Clooney, Obama nets $15 million

Discussion: Business Insider, Wall Street Journal and Weasel Zippers

Katherine Ellison / The Atlantic Online:

An Inconvenient Lawsuit: Teenagers Take Global Warming to the Courts — Industry giants say their case is misguided. But that isn't stopping a group of high school students from using the legal system to make environmental demands. — Alec Loorz turns 18 at the end of this month.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Los Angeles Times, The Gateway Pundit, New York Times and Guardian

Lucia Mutikani / Reuters:

Jobless claims fall, trade gap widens — (Reuters) - The number of Americans submitting new applications for jobless benefits edged down last week, easing concerns the labor market was deteriorating after April's weak employment growth. — While the claims data indicated the economy remained …

Discussion: The Enterprise Blog, americanthinker.com and The Page

First Read / msnbc.com:

First Thoughts: Obama's careful line on same-sex marriage — Obama announces support for same-sex marriage, but walks a careful line to respect states' rights and religious views - always with an eye on the middle. ... Obama was going to do this, but Biden expedited this... And, of course, the politics - in short, this ain't 2004.

Discussion: CBS News and JSOnline

Terence P. Jeffrey / CNSNews:

324,000 Women Dropped Out of Labor Force in Last Two Months—As Number of Women Not in Labor Force Hits Historic High — (CNSNews.com) - 324,000 women dropped out of the nation's civilian labor force in March and April as the number of women not in the labor force hit an all-time historical high …

Discussion: americanthinker.com, Weasel Zippers, Right Wing News, Althouse and UrbanGrounds

Robert J. Barro / Wall Street Journal:

Robert Barro: Stimulus Spending Keeps Failing — If austerity is so terrible, how come Germany and Sweden have done so well? — The weak economic recovery in the U.S. and the even weaker performance in much of Europe have renewed calls for ending budget austerity and returning to larger fiscal deficits.

Discussion: EconLog and NewsBusters.org