Will Obama 'Pay" for His Decision? (Hint: No)

I don't know how much political calculating President Obama did before announcing today:

"I've just concluded that for me personally, it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same sex couples should be able to get married."

Vice President Joe Biden was out of the closet ahead of him by a day or so in endorsing gay marriage.The American public has increasingly favored allowing people to marry whom they choose and that approval is at more than 50 percent now and climbing.

North Carolina, in about five years, is going to look like Alabama/Mississippi 1964 as relates to race relations. They have that permanent scar on their reputations and it won't be gone in my lifetime. North Carolina will wear this scar, as well, and my guess is that the Research Triangle will be the first to begin feeling its economic impact. It won't be pretty.

OK, so the poll's phallic. I can't help that. These are the numbers.

People who support gay marriage are often those with good educations, good job skills and excellent earning potential--the kind of people localities want working in their industries. Those same industries will seek places other than North Carolina to locate their businesses. Super Bowl in North Carolina? Forget it. Conventions in North Carolina? They'll be looking elsewhere.

I don't know what this will do to the Obama-Biden ticket in the fall, but my guess is that it is neutral if not positive. The people who are opposed to gay marriage are already against Obama. He won't lose them. People who favor equal rights for all people tend to either be on Obama's side, or at the least, opposed to Republicans who are not for equality of all people.

(Photo: ABC News; poll, NYTimes.)