Yes, no doubt about it. I congratulate President Obama for his brave and historic stance. There’s no way anyone can detract from the significance of what happened yesterday. Imagine, the lesbian and gay children and youth of today growing up knowing that the President of the United States has affirmed their right to love who they want to love. It is truly outstanding.

Some, like Dan, are dismayed that the President said ‘personal decision’ instead of casting an executive tone in light of the North Carolina referendum vote to ban same sex marriage and civil unions. But as we know, the president has no executive power to amend the U.S. constitution on his own. Quite thankfully actually, as it is easy to imagine scenarios in either political direction of an overreaching executive branch establishing social policy as it pleases. In addition, the president does not even have the power to veto an amendment resolution passed by the Congress.

Supposing such executive power were in place, I’d have no choice but to support President Obama and forever tie my sexuality as the only deciding factor on who I vote for president. But our country is far more resilient and sophisticated than that nonsense.

Not all women in America cast their vote always for the pro-choice candidate, and not all gay people cast their vote for pro-marriage equality candidate, precisely because these battles are fought in our courts, state legislatures, and in Congress.

It always astounds me how the Democratic party, as well as cable personalities like Rachel Maddow, will expose that Democrats are the only party for which women, LGBT, blacks, should give their allegiance when we all know full and well that our elected representatives of all parties have worked over the decades on a consistent upward trajectory for equality and freedom for all minorities (for the most part anyway). This is still true despite setbacks like North Carolina’s vote on Tuesday and recent draconian laws passed in the states related to abortion. I certainly do not fault any gay person, woman, or black who feels that these issues are of such paramount importance that they nullify all other issues they hold dear that may run counter to prevailing dispositions of those that hold power in the Democratic Party.

With a significant amount of reluctance, I remain fully in support of Mitt Romney to be the next president of the United States. My altruism does not permit me the luxury of turning a blind eye to the damage that another four years of Obama would do, just for the sole issue of marriage equality. And I admit, it’s painful for me to have to say that.

Indeed, social issues in this presidential campaign is like debating dance moves in the ballroom of the Titanic as our nation is sinking fast. I desperately want a president who:

- Takes deficit reduction and entitlement reform seriously. His own Secretary of State, in light that our debt is about to surpass our GDP, warns that our deficit is a national security issue. When was the last time Obama even commented on Bowles-Simpson, his own commission? However I do agree that the Bush tax rates should expire and be raised to Clinton levels.

- Takes his oath of office seriously and does not seek harm to the United States Constitution. Having the government require a citizen to purchase a product simply for existing on the planet is obnoxious on the federal level as it is on the state level – and I believe that Mitt now fully realizes that. It’s also an exceedingly dangerous slippery slope of government intrusion and power in multiple scenarios. It is also quite disturbing to see that medical school enrollments are down and doctors growing dread of Obamacare.

- Limits the power of federal agencies and laws on private affairs and business. Case in point, the SCOTUS recently ruled against the Obama adminstration that citizens have the right to appeal EPA decisions. Property rights as well as gun rights, and the freedom of religion as well as religious institutions is critical to a free society Mr. Obama.

- Loves our country and is not embarrassed by its heritage and culture, and who professes the power and strength of individualism and success as opposed to the collective salvation shared misery philosphy of Obama's leftist aspirations.

Finally, there is every reason to believe that Mitt (weathervane as he is) will change his stance on marriage equality to some degree or another. It’s worth it to put America back on track first and work for that.

@19: The interesting thing here is that you devote yourself to a political party simply because they're accepting of gays. That's understandable and expected in the short run, but ultimately short sighted if you want to be a savvy and patriotic citizen.

Allow me to digress into a PowerPoint:

On one level there is the eternal fight between left vs. right, D vs. R, which is quite healthy actually. On another layer we have peoples’ sexual identity, expression, relationships, and other intrinsic personal human factors. How one votes on the ‘political’ level is guided by a myriad of confluences from the ‘psycho-social’ level.

We can list predictable and expected voting patterns and party make up only to an extent. The relationship between these levels is fluid. But we can say that very often people’s desires and expectations from the ‘psycho-social’ level are often compromised from the choices on the ‘political’ level. In almost every election, people are holding their noses and voting for the lesser of two evils.

I am no different.

@16 – That I would get peppered by the ‘self-hate’ card was glaringly predictable. It’s the only thing liberals have left to say when they can’t fathom why anyone would have the audacity to disagree with them. Fundamentally, liberalism is an authoritarian ideology.

@17 – But Barry Goldwater changed in his later years. From From a liberal blog:

Hostility towards the extreme right wing which has taken control of the Republican Party is not the same as openly opposing formerly mainstream Republican beliefs. Many former conservatives have rejected this extremism. In his later years Barry Goldwater rejected the influence of the religious right on the Republican Party and referred to himself as a liberal. Despite the frequency with which his name is brought up, it is also doubtful that Ronald Reagan would be happy with the current direction of his party.