The President of the United States did a good thing when he told Americans he supported same-sex marriage. It was overdue but the right thing to say. Whatever the motivations or the circumstances, the statement supported a principled stand that will help make us a better nation.

So let’s hear it for . . . Joe Biden, whose simple, humane statement two days earlier pushed his boss into saying something that needed to be said but that he either didn’t want to say or wasn’t quite ready to say. In our political culture, Joe just made one of those “gaffes” — something a politician says that’s correct or true when saying it is supposed to be awkward. More “gaffes,” please, Joe.

For those of us in NC still smarting, we really do seek some of the joy from yesterday’s announcement by the President. We have to get the enthusiasm back and continue our work for equality. I do know that it will come. Just not right now.

I think that the President’s announcement yesterday on marriage equality is worthy of praise. Yet I also see John Cole’s point that, at the end of the day, the President merely expressed an opinion. Presidents expressing an opinion matters more than, say, me expressing one, but we can judge on actions and not words. And there is a list of advances over the last four years on gay rights.

That’s why it’s so puzzling that, on the same day as this expression of opinion, the Administration reiterated that they will not sign the executive order banning workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation at federal contractors.

Dave Dayen reported this morning on Greg Sargent’s scoop about big LGBT donors withholding donations from the Obama campaign over the President’s refusal to sign an executive order on ENDA. Unless I miss my guess, “we have heard from at least half a dozen major gay and progressive donors” is code for what used to be known in donor circles as “the Cabinet” or “the Gay 8.” The White House is pushing back on the Sargent article and telling journalists that there really are no problems. But if that’s the case, where are the traditional LGBT 527 donors?

LGBT fundraising has replaced Wall Street as a main source of support for the Obama campaign. But the President’s equivocation on ENDA and confusing rhetoric on marriage equality on other gay rights issues has depressed that support. In some cases, it has closed up that well.

We had hundreds of people calling their representatives yesterday to ask if they would sign the letter to President Obama, telling him to issue an executive order preventing federal contractors from discriminating against employees based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

LGBT activists lobbying on the Hill report that the DNC is actively discouraging the letter in order to shield the President from the pressure within his own party.

The simple truth is that no one should lose their jobs based on their sexual identity or orientation, and the President’s executive order is the fastest and easiest way to prevent this discrimination.

A reminder: this is what happens when you live in a flyover state without anti-discrimination laws on the books — you can be fired simply for being LGBT. Veda Renfrow said she lost her job as a broadcast technician responsible for recording Wake County commission meetings one day after coming out to co-workers. (NBC 17): [...]

I have to agree with HRC that the time is most certainly not “right” for ENDA in the political sense of the term, though the time has been right for it on a moral level for many years. This is a uniquely cautious White House, so spooked about the election as to not even use its power to write an executive order preventing LGBT discrimination by federal contractors, and now they announce “the time is right” to pass ENDA without delay?

I haven’t seen such complete #FAIL at the podium for the White House Press Secretary since Robert Gibbs was up there bobbing and weaving over “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” questions from Kerry Eleveld, formerly of The Advocate. Now it was Jay Carney’s turn to look like a jack@ss trying to explain why the President refused to sign an executive order that would bar workplace discrimination by federal contractors — protecting LGBT workers who are now able to be fired simply because of their sexual orientation, gender identity or expression.