Obama on the High Wire

By THOMAS B. EDSALL, NYT

Is the Democratic party the tribune of the underdog or the slave of special interests?

For much of his first three years in office, President Obama has struggled to maintain the loyalty of the liberal wing of his party. Suddenly, in 2012, he has put on a full court press.

The president’s policy shift in favor of same-sex marriage, for example, has allowed him to win back the hearts, minds and wallets of the gay rights community, a crucial source of Democratic support.

On another front, no week goes by without one or more events designed to secure and deepen Obama’s advantage among women. On May 14, he pointedly gave the graduation address at Barnard, the women’s college affiliated with Columbia (his alma mater), informing graduates:

After decades of slow, steady, extraordinary progress, you are now poised to make this the century where women shape not only their own destiny but the destiny of this nation and of this world.

From Barnard in upper Manhattan, Obama traveled downtown to ABC and an appearance on “The View,” to tell Barbara Walters, Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Sherri Shepherd and Elisabeth Hasselbeck, “I like hanging out with women.”

(More here.)