Signs and Wonders 05.09

Thanks for Cher-ing. The pop singer who a half-century ago was part of the duo Sonny and Cher is, I'm told, an avid Twitter user. Not sure about that, since I don't "follow" her, but one of her recent tweets is getting its 15 minutes of fame. She slammed Mitt Romney and accused him of being a tool for his "racist homophobic women hating tea bagger masters." To which I respond: Thanks, Cher, for sharing. Now, the next time your liberal fellow-travelers say we should all be more "tolerant," I will know what liberal tolerance looks like.

Really? The Pew Research Center for the People and the Press surveyed more than 1,500 people and found that opposition to same-sex marriage is significantly lower in 2012 than in the last two presidential years. The April survey found that 22 percent of Americans say they strongly favor gay marriage, and 22 percent say they strongly oppose it. In 2008, "strongly oppose" led "strongly favor" 30 percent to 14 percent. In 2004, it was 36 percent to 11 percent. I don't doubt that these numbers have some validity, but some of the swing is because it is now politically incorrect to say you "strongly oppose" gay marriage. The left has made such a position seem extreme or radical. Case in point: Surveys done just before yesterday's passage of a marriage amendment in North Carolina said the vote would be close. It wasn't. Amendment One, protecting traditional marriage, received 61 percent of the vote, a landslide by almost any definition.

Survey says. … While we're on the subject of marriage, I will note that Vice President Joe Biden endorsed same-sex marriage this week, but President Obama has remained silent on the issue. No surprise, since this year's presidential race will likely be decided by just a few percentage points in a few key states, states like North Carolina, where even a majority of Democrats voted for traditional marriage. Nationwide, according to a recent Gallup poll, 50 percent of Americans favor gay marriage, with 48 percent opposed. But last year those in favor were 53 percent. According to Gallup, "This year's results underscore just how divided the nation is on this issue. As a result, President Obama's campaign strategy team obviously is continuing to grapple with how to handle it-with the vice president on the one hand essentially endorsing legalized gay marriage, while the administration on the other hand stops just short of the same pronouncement."

The Oracle speaks. Billionaire Warren Buffett has earned the nickname "The Oracle of Omaha." When he speaks, the financial markets listen, and lately, so has Barack Obama. Buffett has allowed himself to be used by Obama to promote the so-called "Buffett Rule," which would raise taxes on the wealthy. All of this makes this next news item particularly interesting: In an interview this week on Fox Business, Buffett spoke up for the Keystone pipeline, which Obama has opposed. Buffett: "I'm not an expert, but it certainly seems like it makes sense to me. There are an awful lot of pipelines running in the United States and … they've certainly been a huge plus for the country."