Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Confirmation Bias Again

Just a quick comment on the news of the day: Obama announcing support for gay marriage.  Sort of.

My twitter field is mostly on the center to left side, so mostly tweets happy this has finally happened.  The few folks I follow on the right side of the spectrum are, of course, critical, accusing Obama of pandering, of getting to where Cheney was a few years ago. 

I am not surprised as I am quite familiar with confirmation bias.  My take on this event confirms my confirmation bias: I have long been simultaneously pleased and annoyed by Obama.  He has done many good things, but he has taken some positions that I have found most awful.  His slowness to come to this side of the issue, with perhaps heaps of caveats, annoys me.  However, I also understand that this is politics, a grown up business where politicians often feel that they cannot get too far ahead of the American people.  I would have preferred that he led a bit more on some issues rather than follow.  I also appreciate that he has limited power to change things in the face of a power determined to block him in every effort, even if it undermines the country, and with a party that is feckle in the extreme. 

So, this is an important day, but it is very, very late.  It does not change how I will vote, but I will be a bit happier voting for Obama now that he finally got off of this fence.

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