Gay marriage back on the agenda for election 2012

According to the New York Times, Robin Roberts of ABC's "Good Morning America," will interview President Obama at 1.30pm Wednesday, with same-sex marriage a likely topic.

Gay marriage has surfaced to the top of the national discourse this week. While North Carolina voted to ban same-sex unions on Tuesday, both Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary Arne Duncan made supposedly spontaneous remarks in favor of gay marriage during television interviews.

The Romney campaign entered the fray when his gay foreign policy advisor Richard Grenell resigned, saying he didn't want to distract from more important campaign issues.

With gay marriage back in the spotlight, LGBT Americans out in greater numbers and essential voting blocs at stake, how will both President Obama and Republican candidate Mitt Romney position themselves on this issue in 2012?

Linda Hirshman at Salon.com thinks that 2012 will be a "gay election," the first in which the gay community is so visible, that efforts to marginalize them may to more harm than good.