President Obama greets Archie Hackney, 90, of Newton, IA

President Obama greets Archie Hackney, 90, of Newton, IA (Mr. Hackney's first greeting of a sitting president). As a wheelchair-bound veteran he insists on standing to meet his Commander-In-Chief.

Michelle and Barack

Sacred Trust - Obama for America 2012 Television Ad

Learn more: http://www.barackobama.com/forward

The sacrifices that our troops have made have been incredible. It's because of what they've done that we've been able to go after Al Qaeda and kill Bin Laden. When they come home we have a sacred trust to make sure that we are doing everything we can to heal all of their wounds. Giving them the opportunities that they deserve to find a job and get the education that they need. It's not enough just to make a speech about how we value veterans. It's not enough just to remember them on Memorial Day.

President Obama and the Fight for LGBT Rights

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Glee star Jane Lynch narrates this documentary about LGBT rights in America. The video features a candid interview with President Obama, who speaks about the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell, why he supports marriage equality, and what's at stake for the LGBT community in this election.

Photo of Judge Michael Fitzgerald (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)

See how President Obama is moving us forward on LGBT rights

See how President Obama is moving us forward on LGBT rights—then share the progress with your friends: http://OFA.BO/AMVPTD

Sarah Jessica Parker is hosting a gathering for the President and First Lady at her home in New York.

Sarah Jessica Parker is hosting a gathering for the President and First Lady at her home in New York next month—and you could score a spot on the guest list. We’ll cover your airfare: http://OFA.BO/kY7KwQ

President Obama, President Clinton, and you for an evening in New York.

President Obama, President Clinton, and you for an evening in New York. Airfare for you and your guest is on us: http://OFA.BO/woKTC9

Freedom Isn't Free

Freedom Isn't Free, created for the promotion of awareness for our warriors and the sacrifices they and their families endure for the freedom and security of our nation.

THANK YOU to all of our Military Heroes, Past, Present & Future. ♥

Source https://www.facebook.com/famousfoxx#!/FIF.HOH

First Lady Michelle Obama christens the USCGC Stratton with a bottle of champagne

First Lady Michelle Obama christens the USCGC Stratton with a bottle of champagne, during a ceremony at the Port of Pascagoula, in Pascagoula, Mississippi.

Michelle Obama hug

Twenty years later, she still gives pretty great hugs.

The original STATUE OF LIBERTY was BLACK!!!!

The original STATUE OF LIBERTY was BLACK!!!! A History Lesson It is hard to believe that after my many years of schooling secondary and post) the following facts about the Statue of Liberty was never taught. Hundreds of thousands if not millions of people including myself have visited the Statue of Liberty over the years but yet I'm unable to find one person who knows the true history behind the Statue- amazing. Yes,amazing that so much important Black history (such as this) is hidden from us (Black and White). What makes this even worse is the fact that the current twist on history perpetuates and promotes white supremacy at the expense of Black Pride.

During my visit to France I saw the original Statue of Liberty. However there was a difference, the statue in France is Black. The Statue of Liberty was originally a Black woman, but, as memory serves, it was because the model was Black.

In a book called "The Journey of The Songhai People", according to Dr. Jim Haskins, a member of the National Education Advisory Committee of the Liberty-Ellis Island Committee,professor of English at the University of Florida, and prolific Black author, points out that what stimulated the original idea for that 151 foot statue in the harbor.

He says that what stimulated the idea for the creation of the statue initially was the part that Black soldiers played in the ending of Black African Bondage in the United States. It was created in the mind of the French historian Edourd de Laboulaye, chairman of the French Anti-Slavery Society, who, together with sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi,proposed to the French government that the people of France present to the people of the United States through the American Abolitionist Society, the gift of a Statue of Liberty in recognition of the fact that Black soldiers won the Civil War in the United States.

It was widely known then that it was Black soldiers who played the pivotal role in winning the war, and this gift would be a tribute to their prowess. Suzanne Nakasian, director of the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island Foundations' National Ethnic Campaign said that the Black Americans' direct connection to Lady Liberty is unknown to the majority of Americans,BLACK or WHITE.

When the statue was presented to the U.S. Minister to France in 1884, it is said that he remonstrated that the dominant view of the broken hackles would be offensive to a U.S. South, because since the statue was a reminder of Blacks winning their freedom. It was a reminder to a beaten South of the ones who caused their defeat, their despised former captives.

Documents of Proof:

1.) You may go and see the original model of the Statue of Liberty, with the broken chains at her feet and in her left hand. Go to the Museum of the City of NY, Fifth Avenue and 103rd Street write to Peter Simmons and he can send you some documentation.

2.) Check with the N.Y. Times magazine, part II_May 18, 1986. Read the article by Laboulaye.

3.) The dark original face of the Statue of Liberty can be seen in the N.Y. Post, June 17, 1986, also the Post stated the reason for the broken chains at her feet.

4.) Finally, you may check with the French Mission or the French Embassy at the U.N. or in Washington, D.C. and ask for some original French material on the Statue of Liberty, including the Bartholdi original model.

You can call in September (202) 944-6060 or 6400. Please pass this information along!

Higher Education

the facts: http://www.barackobama.com/forward

His mother got him up before dawn to do school work she knew what it meant for his future. With hard work and student aid his life was transformed. Today higher education means even more for the middle class. Giving young people the chance to compete, like he did. So he doubled funding for college grants, capped federal student loan payments, passed the largest college tax credit ever. For their future and ours.

Get the facts: http://www.barackobama.com/forward

Jim Messina: April Fundraising & Paths to 270 Update

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Hey everybody. I'm Jim Messina, the President's campaign manager. I wanted to give you a quick update on what we've been up to this month, and what that's going to mean between now and November.

We had 169,500 first-time donors in April—putting us within reach of 2 million donors this election cycle. And here's my favorite part: our average donation was $50.23, with 98 percent of those donations $250 or less. That makes our campaign different, and it's how we're going to build a winning organization across the country.

One of the most important things we can do is get our arms around that fact that this election is going to be close given the historic challenges the nation faced when the President first came into office. Oil company executives and other special interests are dumping millions of dollars in Super Pac attack ads.

In fact as this chart shows, we got almost $60 million in spending against the President and his policies so far in this campaign by the other side. The last two weeks have shown this clearly. The Koch-brothers funded Super Pac spent $6 million dollars on TV ads attacking the President. Mitt Romney's Super Pac put another $4 million on the air. That's $10 million in ads from two outside groups who can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money.

While Governor Romney has run an almost solely negative campaign tearing down the President, we started this campaign with a series of positive ads. These ads talked about where we started and what the President is doing to move this country forward. This is the kind of campaign we are running, and it's the reason your contributions are so important.

A few months ago, I walked folks through the different pathways we could take to get to 270 electoral votes. Now that we're in the general election, let's take a look at how we're doing on a few of those pathways.

As you can see, the "West Path" includes states like Colorado, New Mexico, and Nevada. Some of these are states that Democrats hadn't won in years until 2008. This month, we put 12 new staff members in Colorado and signed up 51 new Neighborhood Team Leaders. We opened brand new offices in New Mexico and Nevada. We can win there in 2012, but only if we can keep building great teams and opening up offices.

We can't count on Florida alone to take us to 270—but it is the easiest way to get there. That's why we're building a massive operation on the ground—opening up five new field offices in April alone and signing up 56 new Neighborhood Team Leaders.

Now let's take a look at our "South Path", which counts on some places we won big in local races in 2011. We hired 22 new staff members in North Carolina this April because we believe so strongly that we can win the south this time around. Just this month in North Carolina we registered over 15,000 voters. That's a big deal because we won the state by less than that last time. And we opened four new field offices in Virginia, which has become a major trendsetter in national politics.

The "Midwest Path" leans on Ohio—one of the places where we're doing the most work on the ground—and Iowa. And thanks to six new field offices in Ohio and 61 new team leaders and a batch of new team members in Iowa, we're well on our way to victory. And while Governor Romney's declaration that he would let Detroit go bankrupt has led to much criticism across the state of Michigan, we need to organize our way to victory through hard work every day in the Upper Midwest.

And finally, if 2008 taught us anything, it's that we can't count on anyone's old map—even ours. We need new ways to put every state into play. That's why we hired new staff in Arizona this April—it wasn't a swing state last time around, but if we can help register the hundreds of thousands of eligible voters who missed out in 2008, we can put it on the table this November.

So thanks to everyone who stepped up to support the campaign. Together, we raised more than $43 million from 437,323 grassroots supporters in April alone—helping us to open up 42 new field offices around the country. Those offices, plus the 120 new team members we were able to hire, means that we can be out there every day training volunteers, knocking on doors, making phone calls, and registering new voters.

I am sure you are as proud of the President as I am. Just in the last weeks he has laid out a plan to end the war in Afghanistan, made a historic statement on gay marriage, and kept the pressure up on Congress to take steps to improve this economy. There's no question he is the President we need.

It's going to be an exciting six months—let's go win this.

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(THE FACTS) Stephanie Cutter: Get the facts on Karl Rove's BS

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Stephanie Cutter shares the facts against the latest ad put out by Karl Rove and his Super PAC: Crossroads.

"Hi, I'm Stephanie Cutter, Deputy Campaign Manager at Obama for America.

Well, here we are again. Karl Rove's group, Crossroads, is spending $25 million from secret donors to tear down the president in a new ad out today.

Time to tear this thing apart.

First up -- the attack ad says the president has not helped people who face foreclosure. That is flat out wrong.

Because of President Obama's policies and the efforts he set in motion, over 5.9 million homeowners were able to modify their mortgages, avoid foreclosure, and stay in their homes. And the president is fighting to get Congress to go further -- to let responsible homeowners who pay their mortgages on time to refinance and save on their monthly payments, even if they are underwater. The president is doing this because he believes homeownership is critical to helping middle class families build for their future.

And don't forget: Mitt Romney's plan on this? Well I'll just let him speak for himself:

ROMNEY: 'Don't try and stop the foreclosure process, let it run its course and hit the bottom.'

I'd like to say that's unbelievable, but with Mitt Romney, it's really not.

Second, the ad says the president broke a promise to cut taxes on middle class Americans. They're wrong again. President Obama has cut taxes for all working Americans -- in fact tax levels are nearly the lowest they've been since the 1950s. So, when Karl Rove says the president broke his promise on middle class tax cuts, he's not telling you the truth.

But, If Mitt Romney wants to have this argument, we are happy to have it. Because when he ran for governor of Massachusetts, he promised to cut taxes too. But unlike the President, he actually did break that promise -- he hiked taxes and fees by $750 million per year on Massachusetts families and Massachusetts small businesses.

Third, the ads talks about health care. And you'll like this one because we've heard it before. It says that you won't be able to keep the insurance plan that you have. Now that's just flat out wrong. If you like your plan if you want to keep it -- you can. In fact, the president made that plan stronger.

You know what Mitt Romney says about Obamacare?

ROMNEY: 'If I'm President, I will repeal Obamacare and I'll kill it dead on it's first day.'

'Kill it dead' Affordable coverage? Gone. Protections against insurance companies? Gone. Kids with preexisting conditions getting coverage? Not anymore. Not under Mitt Romney.

Fourth up is an attack on the president's plan to cut the deficit. The President has already enacted $1 trillion in spending cuts to help reduce our deficit—and has a balanced plan to cut the deficit by $4 trillion over the next 10 years.

Under Mitt Romney? The deficit would not just go up, it would go way up. Just like in Massachusetts, where he promised to reduce the debt, but actually increased it by 16 percent. As President, he'd add $5 trillion to the deficit because of a $250,000 tax cut for every millionaire and billionaire in this country that he's not paying for.

So -- another special interest attack ad, another set of outright distortions, and another time when I need to ask you to do what you do best: get the president's back. Karl Rove is relying on you doing nothing to call out his BS -- and I know you'll prove him wrong. Tweet this video to your friends, Facebook it so people you know see it, post it on your Tumblr -- and let's make sure people get the truth.

Thanks for helping us fight back."

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Dorothy Cooper and the new Tennessee voter law - visit GottaVote.org for your state's information

Dorothy Cooper from Chattanooga, TN knows the importance of voting. She's been voting in elections for over seventy years, and she doesn't intend to miss the next one.

But this year the Tennessee legislature passed a law requiring voters to show an ID that they've never had to before. And since 2011, over two dozen GOP controlled states have been playing politics with democracy, passing strict new voter ID laws. These laws could make it harder for over 20 million eligible U.S. citizens to exercise their right to vote.

Dorothy was able to obtain her new voter ID, but only after producing five types of identification.

Get the facts on voting in your state at http://www.GottaVote.org

The President and First Lady Announce the 2012 Launch of Veterans and Military Families for Obama

President Obama:

"The most humbling part of my job is serving is serving as Commander in Chief of the world's finest military. And there's nothing I take more seriously than my responsibility to those who sacrifice their own safety to defend ours. That's why Michelle and I have made supporting veterans and military families a top priority from the start."

First Lady Michelle Obama:

"Our veterans have done so much for this country and your families set an example for all of us. I can't say this enough: I am in awe of you."

President Obama:

"Look how far we've come together in just three years. When I took office we had more than a 140,000 Americans troops in Iraq. Today we're safer and stronger. We've refocused our efforts on defeating Al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan. We've brought Osama bin Laden to justice. And last December the First Lady and I were proud to welcome our troops home from Iraq. And were looking forward to doing the same as our service members come back from Afghanistan."

First Lady Michelle Obama:

"You've fought so bravely for this country all around the world and when you hang up that uniform you shouldn't have to fight to get a job or receive the benefits you've earned here at home."

President Obama:

"That's why my administration is making veteran's employment a national priority: from creating tax credits for businesses that hire unemployed veterans and wounded warriors to improving the post-911 GI BILL, the most comprehensive package of educational benefits for veterans in more than 60 years. It's why we've boosted the veteran affairs budget every year since I've been in office. To make sure that every veteran has access to physical and mental health care that they need. It's why we systematically reform the way we fund health care for veterans and are hiring thousands of claims processors to get the veterans their benefits faster."

First Lady Michelle Obama:

"Supporting veterans and military families means doing everything we can to serve you as well as you served our country. Barack has your backs and he's just getting started."

President Obama:

"So visit BarackObama.com/Veterans.

Join Veterans and Military Families for Obama and thanks for your service."

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President Obama at the 2012 Women's Leadership Forum

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Hello everybody,

It's fair to say that there's been a bit of talk of women and women's issues so far this year. And I've said before, I want to repeat, I think it's been oversimplified, women are not an interest group. Women shouldn't be treated that way. Women are half this country and half of its workforce. Your 80% of my household if you count my mother-in-law and I always count my mother-in-law. So I got a vested interest in making sure we do well.

As a father, the highlight of everyday for me is asking my daughters about theirs. Their hopes and their futures it's what drives me every single day when I step into the White House. Every decision I make is all about ensuring that all of our daughters and all of our sons grow up in a country that gives them the equal chance to be anything they set their minds to. A country where more doors are open to them than were open to us. When women make less than men for the same work that hurts families who have to get by with less and businesses who have fewer customers who can spend money there.

When the job doesn't offer family leave to care for a new baby or sick leave to care for an ailing parent --that burns all of us, it's not just a women's issue. When any of our citizens can't fulfill there potential because of factors that had nothing to do with their talent or character or work ethic --that diminishes us as a country. It says something about who we are as Americans. Let's look at some of the debates that we've already had this year instead of putting forward serious plans to help put more American back to work. A lot of those folks in the other party have chosen to re-fight battles we settled long ago.

This contraception fight in particular was illuminating, it was like being in a time machine. Republicans in Congress were going so far as to say an employer should be able to have a say in the health care decisions of it's female employees. Now we got governors and legislatures across the river in Virginia, up the road in Pennsylvania all across the country saying that women can't be trusted to make their own decisions. That pushing and passing bills forcing women to get ultrasounds even if they don't want one. If you don't like it the governor of Pennsylvania says, "You can close your eyes."? It's a quote. It's appalling. It's offensive, it's out of touch. And when it comes to what's going on out there your not going to close your eyes. Women across America aren't closing their eyes and as long as I'm president I won't either.

The days of male politicians controlling the health care decisions of our wives and our mothers and our daughters and our sisters --that needs to come to an end. So the choice between going backward and moving forward has never been so clear. As long as I'm president we're going to keep moving forward, you can count on that.

You don't have to take my word for it, you got my signature on it. Because something like standing up for equal pay for equal work isn't something I got to get back to you on, it's the first law that I signed. If you're willing to stick with me and fight with me and press on with me I promise you we will remind everybody just why it is America is the greatest nation on earth.

Thank you. God bless you. God bless the United States of America.

Romney Economics: Job Loss and Bankruptcy at Ampad

Learn more: http://www.romneyeconomics.com With American Pad & Paper (Ampad), Mitt Romney and his partners took a small but successful paper products business and merged it with other companies in the industry, piling up debt as they went. Ultimately, the company was unable to keep up with the interest payments on its debt and was forced into bankruptcy, but not before Romney and his partners were able to squeeze out more than $100 million for themselves.

Mitt Romney: "I stand by what I said, whatever it was."

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Mitt Romney in February:

"I'm not sure which is worse; him listening to Reverend Wright or him saying that we must be a less Christian nation"

Does he stand by his comment?

"I'm actually going to --I haven't, I'm not familiar precisely with exactly what I said, but I stand by what I said, whatever it was."

What else does he stand by?

"Don't try and stop the foreclosure process let it run it's course and hit the bottom."

"Let Detroit go bankrupt."

"I will repeal Obamacare and I'll kill it dead on it's first day."

Reporter: "Governor Romney, if you don't deport them, how do you send them home?"

Mitt Romney:

"Well the answer is self-deportation"

"Planned Parenthood, we're going to get rid of that."

"Corporations are people my friend."

"I was a severely conservative Republican governor."

"I'm not familiar precisely with exactly what I said, but I stand by what I said, whatever it was."

Mitt Romney: "I stand by what I said, whatever it was."

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Romney Economics: Bankruptcy and Bailouts at GST Steel

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Kansas City's GST Steel had been making steel rods for 105 years when Romney and his partners took control in 1993. They cut corners and extracted profit from the business at every turn, placing it deeply in debt. When the company eventually declared bankruptcy, workers not only lost their jobs but were denied their full pensions and health insurance, and the government was forced to step in and provide a bailout.

President Obama on Creating an Economy Built to Last

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President Obama responds to questions during a press conference at the 2012 Chicago NATO Summit.

President Obama: "Well, first of all I think Cory Booker is an outstanding mayor. He's doing great work in Newark and obviously helping to turn that city around. And I think it's important to recognize that this issue is not a, quote, distraction. This is part of the debate that we're going to be having in this election campaign about how do we create an economy where everybody from top to bottom, folks on Wall Street and folks on Main Street, have a shot at success, and if they're working hard and they're acting responsibly, that they're able to live out the American dream.

Now, I think my view of private equity is that it is -- it is set up to maximize profits and that's a healthy part of the free market. That's - that's part of the role of a lot of business people. That's not unique to private equity, and as I think my representatives have said repeatedly, and I will say today, I think there are folks who do good work in that area, and there are times where they identify the capacity for the economy to create new jobs or new industries. But understand that their priority is to maximize profits. And that's not always going to be good for communities or businesses or workers.

And the reason this is relevant to the campaign is because my opponent, Governor Romney, his main calling card for why he thinks he should be president is his business experience. He's not going out there touting his experience in Massachusetts. He's saying,' I'm a business guy and I know how to fix it,' and this is his business.

And when you're president, as opposed to the head of a private equity firm, then your job is not simply to maximize profits. Your job is to figure out how everybody in the country has a fair shot. Your job is to think about those workers who get laid off and how are we paying them for their retraining? Your job is to think about how those communities can start creating new clusters so that they can attract new businesses. Your job as president is to think about how do we set up a equitable tax system so that everybody's paying their fair share that allows us then to invest in science and technology and infrastructure, all of which are going to help us grow.

And so, if your main argument for how to grow the economy is, 'I knew how to make a lot of money for investors,' then you're missing what this job is about. It doesn't - it doesn't mean you weren't good at private equity, but that's not what my job is as president.

My job is to take into account everybody, not just some. My job is to make sure that the country is growing not just now, but ten years from now and twenty years from now. And so, to repeat, this is not a distraction. This is what this campaign's going to be about, is: what is a strategy for us to move this country forward, in a way where everybody can succeed? And that means I've got to think about those workers in that video just as much as I'm thinking about folks who have been much more successful."

Reporter: [inaudible]

President Obama: "What I would say is, is that Mr. Romney is responsible for the proposals he's putting forward for how he says he's going to fix the economy, and if the main basis for him suggesting he can do a better job, is his track record as the head of a private equity firm, then both the upsides and the downsides are worth examining."

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Nurses for Obama

Join Nurses for Obama: https://my.barackobama.com/nursesvid Laura, Mary, and Michelle are nurses who support President Obama and the Affordable Care Act.

As President Obama says:

"America's nurses are the beating heart of our medical system. At moments where people are most vulnerable, most worried --nurses are there."

Nurses have unique insights because they spend so much time with their patients. These nurses believe that the Affordable Care Act is a good thing for everyone.

As Michelle, a nurse from Virginia shares:

"The Affordable Care Act and the preventive services that it covers is going to make our country healthier because it's a step in the right direction toward having a healthier system instead of a sick-care system."

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[video] Mitt Romney: Backwards on Equality

Join the team: https://my.barackobama.com/backwardsvid President Barack Obama affirms his personal belief that same-sex couples should be allowed to marry, but Romney supports the first constitutional amendment to discriminate and deny rights.

Succeed - Obama for America 2012 Television Ad

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The decision to intervene with the auto industry was not popular, but President Obama was convinced it was the right thing to do.

He's fighting to restore middle class security.

We can't just cut our way to prosperity. We must out-innovate, out-educate and out-build the world.

Reverse - Obama for America 2012 Television Ad

Learn more: http://www.barackobama.com/forward

Remember how things were? Do we really want to reverse course now?

President Obama is fighting to restore middle class security.

We can't just cut our way to prosperity. We must out-innovate, out-educate and out-build the world.

[photo] President Barack Obama and Jamie Foxx

Happy Mother's Day

President Obama wishes a happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there. He shares why First Lady Michelle Obama is the best mom he knows, how his mom and grandmother influenced him, and how the model of strong, responsible, and loving women have been a great gift to his daughters.

[video] USA President Obama Affirms Support for Same-Sex Marriage

(via CNN) -- President Barack Obama said Wednesday he supports same-sex marriage, raising the political stakes on an issue over which Americans are evenly split.

The announcement was the first by a sitting president and put Obama squarely at odds with presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney.

"At a certain point I've just concluded that for me, personally, it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same-sex couples should be able to get married," Obama said in an interview with ABC News.

Obama once opposed same-sex marriage. He later indicated his views were "evolving."

"I had hesitated on gay marriage, in part, because I thought civil unions would be sufficient," the president said. "I was sensitive to the fact that -- for a lot of people -- that the word marriage is something that provokes very powerful traditions and religious beliefs."

But, Obama said, his thinking shifted as he witnessed committed same-sex marriages and thought about U.S. service personnel who were "not able to commit themselves in a marriage."

It was not immediately clear how the development might play out at the voting booth.

A Gallup Poll released Tuesday indicated 50% of Americans believe same-sex marriages should be recognized by law as valid, with 48% saying such marriages should not be legal.

But a CNN/ORC poll, taken in late March, indicated policies towards gays and lesbians were tied for last in the most-important issues facing the country.

Obama was "disappointed" by Tuesday's vote on the issue in North Carolina, which he described as discriminatory against gays and lesbians, a spokesman said earlier Wednesday.

North Carolina voted to implement a state constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, which was already prohibited by state law. Supporters of the measure pushed for the constitutional amendment, arguing that it was needed to ward off future legal challenges.

The president said he supports the concept of states deciding the issue on their own, ABC News reported.

Obama said his daughters, Malia and Sasha, have friends whose parents are same-sex couples. "It wouldn't dawn on them that somehow their friends' parents would be treated differently. It doesn't make sense to them and frankly, that's the kind of thing that prompts a change in perspective."