New Obama video slams Romney as 'backwards' on gay marriage

Obama's support for gay marriage is a huge symbolic step, but it does nothing to change the legal status for gays who wish to wed in states where laws forbid such marriages. Obama emphasized that he still believes the issue should be decided on a state-by-state basis.

A new Associated Press-GfK poll, meanwhile, showed Obama's popularity among women, minorities and independents gave him an early edge over Romney. The poll was conducted before Obama's comments Wednesday.

The nationwide poll found half of registered voters say they would back Obama in November, while 42 percent favor Romney. About a quarter of voters indicated they are persuadable, meaning they are undecided or could change their minds before Election Day.

With the struggling American economy the primary concern of voters, the poll found the public divided over whether Obama or Romney would do a better job on the issue. Forty-six percent prefer Obama, 44 percent prefer Romney.

The Democratic president also earned strong marks on empathy, sincerity, likeability and social issues. Half of adults say Obama is the stronger leader, while 39 percent choose Romney. Obama is more trusted to handle taxes and social issues, and to protect the country.

Romney, a former Massachusetts governor who has changed his stance on some important issues over the past 18 years, may need to strengthen his image on questions of credibility and sincerity. More than half of adults say Obama is the one who more often says what he believes, while 31 percent choose Romney on that measure.

Obama's biggest advantages are among women and minorities. His biggest problem is with whites who lack college degrees.

Female voters favor the president by 54 percent to 39 percent. Men are evenly split, with 46 percent for each candidate. That's largely in line with the 2008 "gender gap" that helped Obama win the White House.

Romney draws the backing of half of all white voters, while Obama gets 43 percent. The president continues to draw strong support from black voters; 90 percent favor him; only 5 percent back Romney.

The Associated Press-GfK Poll was conducted May 3-7, by GfK Roper Public Affairs and Corporate Communications. It involved phone interviews with 1,004 adults and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.9 percentage points.

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Associated Press Deputy Polling Director Jennifer Agiesta and News Survey Specialist Dennis Junius contributed to this report.

IN PICTURES: The gay marriage debate

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