Administration officials said the president planned to announce his support before the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., this September. After Vice President Joe Biden said Sunday that he was "absolutely comfortable" with gay couples being married, the White House was at pains to say the comments were entirely consistent with Obama's position, and swatted away questions about new policy that might be forthcoming. The White House team was planning to take more time to lay out their plan, but then the vice president went on "Meet the Press" last Sunday.
– If the United States of America had a nickel for every time its current vice president opened his mouth and inserted foot, we'd all get a trip to Disneyland. But Joe Biden's comments Sunday instead got us President Obama's personal endorsement of gay marriage—yesterday, not at some random point over the summer. The vice president absolutely forced the president's hand in terms of timing, White House insiders tell Politico, and Obama seemed to confirm that in his full ABC interview, aired on GMA this morning. "I had already made a decision that we were going to take this position before the election and before the convention," Obama said. "He probably got a little bit over his skis, but out of generosity of spirit," added Obama. "Would I have preferred to have done this in my own way, in my own terms, without there being a lot of notice to everybody? Sure," he continued. "But all's well that ends well." Biden "leaned in more than he normally would have," a senior adviser tells the LA Times, but the VP fully knew that Obama's mind was made up weeks or months ago when he spoke Sunday. Coupled with Arne Duncan's unexpected stance on the issue the following day, the White House's careful deliberations on the political implications of a presidential endorsement went up in smoke.