Obama Makes It Tougher for Dem Senators Facing Reelection

How'd you like to have the guy that heads your team endorse something the voters of your state hate?

Senate Democrats facing difficult reelections are breaking with President Obama’s endorsement of same-sex marriage, a sign the issue is politically dangerous in battleground states.

Sens. Jon Tester (Mont.) and Claire McCaskill (Mo.), the two most vulnerable Democratic senators, have declined to endorse Obama’s call for the legalization of gay marriage.

Sens. Joe Manchin (W.Va.), Bob Casey (Pa.) and Bill Nelson (Fla.), Democrats who have easier races but in states that could become more competitive by November, have also backed away from Obama’s stance.

They all represent states with constitutional amendments or laws banning same-sex marriage.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) predicted Thursday the Democratic Party would adopt a pro-gay marriage plank in its platform. While that may happen when delegates to the Democratic National Convention meet September in Charlotte, N.C., the party remains divided.

Given that Obama is the head of the Democrat party, his record of failure in office was already making things tough for other Democrats, but supporting a divisive social issue that's been overwhelmingly rejected in so many states just makes it worse.  These Democrats now get to dance the fine line between supporting gay marriage supporting the will of their state's voters.

Harry Reid might find himself out of the Majority Leader job by the time this is all done.