Barack Obama’s Re-Election Odds Narrowing Over Mitt Romney

It’s a long road to the 2012 November election, which will be jammed with hot points like education, economy and foreign policy. But early on, only one topic has dominated the headlines: same sex marriage.

Incumbent president Barack Obama made it that way when he stamped his approval on the practice two weeks ago, not only enraging his opponents, but dividing his own fan base.

African Americans played a large role in his election in 2008, yet many of them are devout Christians who use the Bible as a guideline to their lifestyle. As the new election approaches, those who voted for them are torn between re-electing the first African-American President in history, or standing firm to their beliefs of a man-woman marriage.

A recent poll by the Pew Research Center showed 39 percent of African Americans support same sex marriage, while 47 percent of whites supported it.

Looks like Presidential Betting Odds are starting to follow the trend of voters who seem to be backing off lately. Obama now stands as just a +180 after spending weeks above the +200 line.

In the roaring battle, pastors in local communities are trying to find answers. Otis Smith III, pastor at Chicago’s Trinity United Church of Christ urged his followers to follow both their heart and their mind.

“We should never misconstrue rights designed to protect diverse individuals in a pluralistic society versus religious rites designed by faith communities to communicate a theological or doctrinal perspective,” Moss III said in a statement to the Washington Post. “These two questions are answered in two fundamentally different arenas. One is answered in the arena of civic debate where the constitution is the document of authority. The other is answered in the realm of ecclesiastical councils where theology, conscience and biblical mandates are the guiding mandates.”

In essence, civil rights should be upheld without interference from the community, while religious rites should also be followed.

This issue is even more troubling for Obama because he seems to already be losing another core fan base due to the economy. He received over 60-percent of the 25-and-under vote in 2008, but that age group is posing a 16-percent unemployment rate, nearly double the national average. If he’s going to carry on as favorite to retain the presidency, he’s going to need something to keep his core.