Three things I found notable. 1) Supporters of an amendment have wondered whether the president wanted to use this as a base-rallier rather than to get it passed this year. He didn’t have to say he wanted Congress to pass this amendment “promptly,” and he did. 2) He is not trying in any serious way to make the case against same-sex marriage. He is trying to persuade people who share his opposition to it that a constitutional amendment is now required. 3) The don’t-demonize-gays language will, we can expect, accompany every presidential statement on this topic. Most gays will not take much solace from it, and understandably so. I do think it is sincere. The president will not say, in public, something like hate the sin, love the sinner, but this is the same-sex marriage policy-debate equivalent.