With a presidential candidacy already filled with firsts President Obama added one more Wednesday afternoon when he openly voiced his support of same-sex marriage, becoming the first president in US history to do so. During the 2008 election President Obama appeared aligned with a somewhat liberal agenda in that he voiced his belief in leading a America that supported the rights of all its citizens but a difficult party dynamic and other underlining tensions resulted in him adopting a more moderate agenda for most of his time in the White House. This announcement is a reminder that he is different from many of his predecessors and recognizes that a modern albeit struggling empire cannot not hope to evolve by clinging to outdated mentalities and fear based laws.

President Obama has made many compromises during his first term in an attempt to appease the far right and members of the conservative party to no and get things accomplished to no avail and much to the dissatisfaction of some of his supporters, especially those with libertarian beliefs and the younger population. But during these past four years we have seen glimpses of the "renegade" most of America voted for, starting with the push for overhauling healthcare system in which many Americans went uninsured or without treatment, to the repealing of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" military law.

Conservative critics would focus on these things as examples of why President Obama is a threat to America but his supporters countered by arguing he hasn't been radical enough considering all of of the injustices and unAmerican practices that helped stall American growth in the first place. President Obama ran on the premise of "change we can believe" and "yes we can" but somewhere along the way the very extreme right shifted the focus until it became "change we're not ready for" and Obama supporters forgot that "yes we can" was meant to extend beyond election day and into active political participation since great change is almost impossible to achieve by ones self.

Four years later while people wonder if president Obama is revolutionary enough for the kind of change America needs only those in a bubble can ignore that there has been some progression under his reign. To vote anyone into power in November from a political party whose front men take the lead by demonstrating how extremely right of right their views are would not only be counterproductive but against the overall interest of America.

Whether it be the Occupy protests that will not completely die down, the economy that is still struggling or that it is an election year, the fact is president Obama has shown he is willing to move this country forward and recognizes this is the 21st century which is more than can be said for most of his rivals. I guess we could all ponder over the timing of the president s support for gay marriage but I'd rather focus on the fact that there is someone in power who is more concerned with given others rights at a time when others think it is a display of American patriotism to run campaigns on the rights they would take away from their fellow Americans.