I think that Obama probably does support gay marriage.

However, I think that tempering one's views is part of the nature of politics. All candidates pull back on hot button issues to a certain extent when they broaden their electoral aims. The same thing you said at the local level isn't necessarily going to play on the state or national level.

The sad fact is that the position of fully supporting gay marriage is politically untenable right now. For people to be elected, the most "radical" position they can hold is to support civil unions.

Also, it's possible Obama's position may have, in fact, changed to support civil unions instead of gay marriage.
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