Friday Open Thread [5.10.13]

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The Hill recounts the story about how Delaware's own Joe Biden forced the President's hand on gay marriage:
Last May, in the heat of President Obama's reelection efforts, Biden went on "Meet the Press" and said he was "comfortable" with same-sex marriage. Obama had not at that point announced his support for gay marriage, and the vice president's endorsement left the campaign lurching to clarify the administration's position. The following week, Obama acknowledged he had decided to make an announcement endorsing gay marriage before the election, but Biden's comments forced his hand early. Biden at the time said he apologized to the president for putting him in that position, but in the Rolling Stone interview, Biden said Obama couldn't have been happier. "I got blowback from everybody but the president," Biden said. “"I walked in that Monday, he had a big grin on his face, he put his arms around me and said, 'Well, Joe, God love you, you say what you think.'’ I knew he agreed with me. It wasn't like he was in a different place."”
Booman wonders if the "Biden Push" was and is the seminal moment for progress on marriage equality in America. Recall that ever since, the polls have shown nothing but majority approval for it, and momentum in the states passing gay marriage legislation has been brisk.