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Obama effectively ended the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy in 2010 by persuading Congress to enact the change, which activists warned he could do on his own if the lawmakers balked. He won more praise from gay activists last month when he embraced same-sex marriage, even if the move was largely symbolic. The bigger legal step was his 2011 decision not to enforce a federal law defining marriage as between a man and a woman. Some Republicans denounced Obama's deportation decision as pandering. It's "patently political and self-serving," and will do nothing to change the fact that jobs and the economy will determine the Nov. 6 election, said GOP strategist Danny Diaz. But Congress's Republican leaders were silent on the matter. Republicans know that Hispanic voters are crucial in Florida, Nevada and Colorado, and could make the difference in tight elections in Virginia and North Carolina. Many Democrats hailed Obama's move. "It's the right thing to do for the country, and the right thing to do politically," said veteran strategist Matt Bennett." If Republicans directly challenge the decision, he said, it puts them "in the position of saying we should be attacking, legally, innocent children who did nothing wrong." Republican consultant Mike McKenna said Obama's advisers "have obviously made a decision that they are going to win this election by energizing the base. Between this decision and the gay marriage emphasis, they have doubled down on their core and moved away from where most registered voters are." McKenna said the strategy might inspire activists on both the left and right to turn out to vote. But Democratic campaign veteran Doug Thornell sees more gains than risks in Obama's immigration decision. "The Republican base is pretty inspired to beat Obama already," Thornell said. For persuadable voters, he said, "this is in keeping with a president who does big and bold things." Romney, he said, is "pretty vanilla." If the economy were humming, Obama might not need to do big and bold things. But a national unemployment rate of 8.2 percent forces him to take some chances. That's what he did Friday and briefly stole attention from the start of Romney's five-day bus tour, whose theme is clear: jobs, jobs, jobs.
[Associated
Press;
Charles Babington covers national politics for The Associated Press.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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