Daily French Roast

Anne is reading …

One key line in the sand between President Barack Obama and Republican contender Mitt Romney has been drawn today, and the topic is gay marriage. In a dramatic nod to his own constituency of Democrats who heavily favor gay marriage — and that includes large numbers of Catholic voters — President Obama became the first sitting president to declare this afternoon his support for same-sex marriage. Huff Po writes:

The statement constitutes an act of political bravery on the president’s behalf, as well as a major victory for the gay rights community, which has been pushing him to declare his support for marriage equality for several years. With the issue back in the news this week, the pressure intensified.

Mitt Romney does not agree, when asked for his views on gay marriage, telling POLITICO’s Reid Epstein:

“Well when these issues were raised in my state of Massachusetts, I indicated my view, which is I do not favor marriage between people of the same gender, and I do not favor civil unions if they are identical to marriage other than by name. My view is the domestic partnership benefits, hospital visitation rights, and the like are appropriate but that the others are not.”

Related: Liberal Donors’ Plan Worries Top Democrats NYTimes

Hatch calls on IRS to probe whether staffer leader anti-gay marriage group’s files FOX News

A Real Conversion for the Rest of Us Catholics Huff Po

More DFR

France’s New First Lady

Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, wife of defeated French President Sarkozy, will exit the Elysee Palace stage left, as the new first lady Valerie Trierweiler prepares for her new role alongside President-elect Francois Hollande. Adding spice to the French election result is the fact that twice-divorced journalist Trierweiler “stole” her man, according to the Washington Post, from “Segolene Royal, the mother of Hollande’s four children and a former presidential candidate now seeking her own seat of political power.”

After losing to Sarkozy in 2007, Royal asked Hollande to leave the family home, given his full-blown relationship with Trierweiler. Now she seeks the position as speaker of France’s lower house of parliament, if the Socialists win June’s legislative elections.

Unlike her supermodel predecessor, Valerie wears high-street shops or mid-range labels. Her trademark look consists of a trench-coat or a blazer, a simple shirt, ample trousers and small heels — often accessorized by a Gérard Darel handbag and a colorful silk scarf, writes Fashionista.

Florence Willaert, editor-at-large at French Grazia, describes France’s new first lady. “She is discreet, real, and a lot easier to identity with. She embodies the same message as her husband: a new proximity to the people.” The couple intends to live in their apartment in a Parisian neighborhood, not the Elysee Palace.