I've been away from this board for quite a while and am joining this discussion very late. I have not read all the comments posted and only want to put my two cents in.
I am a black American man who is also gay. That doesn't make me an expert on Obama or gay people, but I think this does give me a different perspective than many others might have. I have been disappointed with much of President Obama's leadership which I think hasn't been forceful enough on many things. On the other hand, he has also accomplished much more than I ever thought he would and he does deserve credit for that.
With respect to his annoucement about gay marriage, I think he has done so because now is the politically right moment. He has decided to go on the offensive against his GOP opponent and this is simply the opening salvo of his attack against Mitt Romney. Most black Americans are quite conservative on gay issues, having little understanding or sympathy for LGBT people. But Obama doesn't have to worry about black Americans abandoning him at the polls as more than 90% will vote for him regardless. No, this move was to energize his base and get his campaign into high gear before the summer political conventions.
So he is telling his base as well as political independents that he is prepared to move more to the left in a second term, his support of gay marriage being the start of that move. And yes, this puts Mitt Romney, for whom I have little or no respect, in a vise politically because he will need independent voters if he is to unseat Obama. The best Romney can do is to remain silent on this issue and hope it won't be that big a factor in the coming elections. He may be right to think so as polls show that 60% of those questioned say that the Obama announcement hasn't changed their minds about him.
Do I believe in gay marriage? Absolutely, and I also think that bans against it are violations of the equal rights clause in the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Gay marriage will eventually be legalized in the U.S. even if the Supreme Court rules against it when it hears challenges to state bans next year. The Court has reversed itself more than once and will do so if a second case comes before it, in my opinion. But to answer the original question, the president's announcement didn't change my mind about him. I still view him as a politician who will do what he thinks will aid his reelection. While I am glad he has finally supported gay marriage after dithering about it for so long, I wish he had done so when he first took office.
Back in 1964 when LBJ was running for election, he was advised to hold off supporting a Civil Rights bill until after the elections. That would have been politically safer for him. Reportedly, upon refusing to consider a delay, LBJ snapped, "What the hell is the office of the President for then if not to do the right thing?" I wish President Obama had shown similar courage in 2009 or even later when he ended "Don't Ask, Don't Tell". But I also know that the presumptive Republican nominee will do nothing to secure equal rights for LGBT people in the forseeable future and that is simply one more reason not to support Mitt Romney's candidacy.
Quendi