Policy & Platforms
Snapshot of America
President Obama announces his support for gay marriage on ABC News.
Experts disagree over how influential party platforms are to individual voters. Public opinion can push a party to adopt new positions, as seen with the Democratic Party on same-sex marriage in 2012. This is perhaps best illustrated in President Obama’s recent endorsement of gay marriage, a situation where his opinion changed in light of changing popular sentiment on the issue.
Related
View the National Convention Platform Committee meeting, August 11, 2012, on C-SPAN