go so far as to categorize his position on same-sex marriage as one that was in the process of evolving. >> whether gays and lesbians should be able to get married, i've spoken about this recently, as i've said. my feelings about this are constantly evolving. i struggle with this. >> you've said your position is evolving. you said you're struggling with it. what more do you need to know? >> well, you know, i probably won't make news right now, george, but i think there's no doubt that as i see friends, families, children of gay couples who are thriving, you know, that has an impact on how i think about these issues. >> again, what i know is what his position was during the campaign and what it is now. you know, he's been very clear about it, he was very clear in the campaign, he's very clear about the fact that his position -- that it's evolving. the president said that he was evolving. >> in explaining that process of evolving today, the president said he has always been adamant that gays and lesbians should be treated fairly and equally, but he hesitated on gay marriage partly he said because he thought civil unions would be enough. they would let people visit their partners in the hospital, for instance. in the abc interview, he acknowledged that same-sex marriage is an issue that eli t elicielici elicits strong feelings both for and against. >> i was sensitive to the fact that for a lot of people, the word "marriage" was something that evokes very powerful traditions, religious beliefs and so forth. but i have to tell you that over the course of several years, as i talk to friends and family and neighbors, when i think about members of my own staff who are incredibly committed in monogamous relationships, same-sex relationships who are raising kids together, when i think about those soldiers or airmen or marines or sailors who are out there fighting on my behalf and yet feel constrained, even now that don't ask, don't tell is gone, because they're not able to commit themselves in a marriage, at a certain point i've just concluded that for me personally, it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that i think same-sex couples should be able to get married. >> just a short time ago we got even more insight into president obama's thought process. more of that abc interview. robin roberts asked the president if he discussed the issue of same-sex marriage with first lady, michelle obama. he said they have talked about it over the years and she feels the same way he does. watch. >> in the end, the values that i care most deeply about and she cares most deeply about is how we treat other people. we're both practicing christians and obviously this position may be considered to put us at odds with the views of others, but, you know, when we think about our faith, the thing at root that we think about is not only christ sacrificing himself on our behalf, but it's also the golden rule. treat others the way you want to be treated. >> the most recent gallup poll says 50% of americans say it should be legal and 48% say no. half the country supports same-sex marriage and tonight that half includes the president of the united states. joining me now, democratic strategist paul begala, chief white house correspondent, jessica yellen and cnn contributor, alex castellanos. jessica, some in the white house have been telling you this was the plan all along. given the past few days the way it sort of rolled out, some believe it doesn't seem all that planned. was it? >> reporter: no, it doesn't look planned at all, does it, anderson. so the official story here is as follows. senior administration officials telling me a few months ago the president came to the conclusion that he is for same-sex marriage. he came to that because in part through discussions with mrs. obama, also because of sasha and malia, his children have parents who are same-sex and he kept saying -- it's not fair that -- >> you mean they have friends who have parents. >> reporter: yes, friends who have parents who are same-sex couples. those conversations as well as the others he referenced helped him come to this decision. then it was just a question of time when he would make that decision public. these officials say the president was going to make that decision public at some point before the democratic convention and then when vice president biden made those remarks on the sunday show this weekend and then the press jumped all over jay carney in the briefing room the other day, they felt they had to do it this week. can i just add to that, i've talked to another democratic official who says, it was a little iffier than that. there was some division in the white house even this week whether he should make this decision and announce it this week. >> how does the white house expect it to play politically, jessica? >> reporter: you know, they're saying that they haven't gamed it out fully and they don't think they'll lose votes over this, although i think that's yet to be seen. but you have to acknowledge that there are more risks. i believe there are more risks than upside to this, although some on this panel will disagree. and in the end, though, the president has made the decision that is more consistent with what he believes to be honest with his -- truthful with his -- to his beliefs. and that's consistent with his brand. they are selling him as somebody who stands on principle. and so in the end, that works for him politically, anderson. >> evan wolfson, you have been working on this harder and longer than just about anybody. a, your thoughts about the president making this statement and your thoughts on how it plays politically. >> i think this is a big day for the country and wonderful day for the freedom to marry movement. not just because the president of the united states is on the right side of history but the way he explained it to the american people. the way he talked from the heart, the way he gave personal examples of people he knew. he looked at his own kids and thought about the values he and michelle are teaching them of treating others as you want to be treated. that rang true because it's the same journey, the same way in which other americans have grappled with this question and it's how we've come to a majority. people have thought it through. the same way the president exemplified and have embraced the idea that treating others the way you would want to be treated is the right way for the country to be. >> paul begala, in terms of the politics on this -- first of all, you called in on this program last june and said you believe the president would publicly support same-sex marriage before the election. a lot of people doubted that. how do you think this plays politically? >> first, i'm just grateful you haven't reminded the audience of the 10,000 things that i said that were wrong, like jon huntsman would be a strong candidate for the republicans. but evan makes a very powerful pointing. the president wasn't reading talking points, he wasn't reading a teleprompter or repeating cliches. this really seemed to me, i don't know him very well but i watched the tape, seemed very authentic and it is the journey many familiars are going on. i was struck that he was enormously respectful of people that may arrive at a different conclusion. we need our president to be a unifying figure, this is a very polarizing issue. i think he has stitched those two roles together. very powerly. you see he's standing on principle. it may hurt him politically but he is being respectful of those arriving at a different conclusion. >> do you think it will hurt him politically? there are many african-americans who traditionally vote democratic who are more socially conservative and who, you know, may not like what he's just said. >> yeah, actually i think the african-american community, even those who disagree with him will still be there. i think this will help with young people. they have developed off terribly with him. it will hurt with older people where he's hoping to do well, taking about issues like medicare and social security. so it really is too soon to tell. the economy is going to drive this election fundamentally. it's not going to be about social issues, even one this historic. i don't think he did this strictly for the politics. everything he does is political, because he's a politician, but i don't think this is an easy or clear political call at all. i think the guy just got tired of pretending that he was not for gay marriage when clearly i think for the last several months he has been. >> alex, i want to play what mitt romney had to say in the wake of the president's announcement. >> i have the same view on marriage that i have -- had when i was governor and that i've expressed many times. i believe marriage is a relationship between a man and a woman. >> he also has said that he doesn't believe in civil unions if they have the same rights as marriages or if they're marriages in everything but name only but does favor some rights of domestic partnerships like hospital visitation rights. how do you think the president's announcement plays? >> well, i think -- i think the president, you know, gets a thumbs up today because i think paul is right and jessica too, that he's taken some political risks today. not that there isn't a political plus side for him. i think the risk is he's not going to lose republicans. he doesn't have any. can't fall off the floor. and he's not going to lose black evangelicals, they're going to stay. but there are some reagan democrats out there, some guys with names on their work shirts who are going to think the president is culturally different from them. paul is right, they're older voters. and he's putting something on the line there for something that he believes he's come to believe in and that's important. the plus side for him is i do think this tells us something about the obama campaign and that is that he's really not working at the middle. he wants to make sure that his base and his support is there at the base. and that's what i think he's doing here. he's putting all his eggs in that basket. but overall, jessica is right, more downside than upside politically for the president. you've got to admire him for that. >> evan, you've been working to support, encourage same-sex marriage in states. does this actually change anything, though? because the federal government still doesn't recognize this, same-sex couples even if they're married in new york city, for instance, they can't, if one partner is from a foreign country, the immigration department doesn't recognize that and they don't get a green card, so does this actually make any difference? >> well, it doesn't change everything, there's plenty of work left to be done. freedom to marry and the rest of us who believe this have to take the president's lead and take the president's example and go out and make the same case and have the same conversations that helped him and the vice president and others to where we now have a majority. >> are you frustrated that the president didn't say i believe in this and i'm going to work to make this more widespread? >> barack obama is president of the united states. he's not president of freedom to marry. i don't expect him to be out there campaigning on this every day. i expect him to do what we elect presidents to do, which is stand for freedom, for fairness, for families, to provide moral leadership in the country and to do what the president needs to do with regard to the federal government. the rest is up to all of us to take that lead and inspiration, but i think the president's words will reverberate across kitchen tables across the country in the hearts and minds of people who are wrestling with this as he and first lady and others have and will provide a powerful example of where the country ought to be. i also think that those who do not fully agree with the president will still respect the president's authenticity, what your commentators are describing as his courage and his willingness to stand for what he believes in and then will be able to move on to the broader and bigger questions that many of them care more about in this very important moment for our country. >> paul, it does fight against the narrative of those who criticize the president who said look, he's voted present, he doesn't take a vote. he talks about the urgency from time to time but he's not really there on the front lines of it. certainly this statement you could say counteracts that. >> well, i think so. i think that the worst thing a president can do is vacillate and he has been vacillating on this quite some time. now he's taken a strong position. i also think it is resonant with his campaign message, forward, not back. the equal rights movement is moving forward. it is inexorable. it is inevitable. i know this is a big setback for those of us who believe in freedom to marry in north carolina yesterday, but in time this will be, i know, the law of the land because of the demographics. younger people very strongly support this. so it's a forward-looking thing. i think he can then cast his opponent, mitt romney, who's been on a journey as well but he's been on a journey the other way. he was an advocate of gay rights when he ran for the senate against ted kennedy. said he would be more gay rights than the late senator. and now today he's for repealing don't ask, don't tell. he wants to reinstate it. and discrim nate against the soldiers and airmen and marines. now he wants to amend the constitution to discriminate against gays in marriage and doesn't support most civil unions. i think he can cast that as a backward-looking position. >> anderson, there is one other factor at play to put this in context. the president did also have to contend with the fact that at the democratic convention there were many people who were pushing for a plank on gay marriage to be included in the party's platform. so if he wasn't going to come out for gay marriage, his hand was going to be forced one way or another. he was going to be called out on his hedging. so, you know, when you say that he was standing up on principle, yes, we can acknowledge that here. but there was also going to be some consternation if he didn't say something at some point. >> evan, briefly. >> i want to go back to what paul said. while the president was evolving, governor romney has been revolving and has settled on a position that is more extreme than that of dick cheney and even george w. bush. dick cheney supports the freedom to marry. george w. bush stated his support for civil unions. governor romney has said he opposes all of that. >> thank you. let us know what you think. we're on facebook, google plus. let me know on twitter. let's have this discussion, @andersoncooper. coming up, hundreds of thousands of tsa equipment not being used. is the tsa wasting your money and trying to hide it from congress? curry. gingersnaps. soup can tower. 5% cash back. right now, get 5% cash back at grocery stores. it pays to discover. holding down the fort while you're out catching a movie. [ growls ] lucky for me, your friends showed up with this awesome bone. hey! you guys are great. and if you got your home insurance where you got your cut rate car insurance, it might not replace all this. [ electricity crackling ] [ gasping ] so get allstate. you could save money and be better protected from mayhem like me. [ dennis ] dollar for dollar, nobody protects you from mayhem like allstate. in here, great food demands a great presentation. so at&t showed corporate caterers how to better collaborate by using a mobile solution, in a whole new way. using real-time photo sharing abilities, they can create and maintain high standards, from kitchen to table. this technology allows us to collaborate with our drivers to make a better experience for our customers. [ male announcer ] it's a network of possibilities -- helping you do what you do... even better. ♪ a body at rest tends to stay at rest... while a body in motion tends to stay in motion. staying active can actually ease arthritis symptoms. but if you have arthritis, staying active can be difficult. prescription celebrex can help relieve arthritis pain so your body can stay in motion. because just one 200mg celebrex a day can provide 24 hour relief for many with arthritis pain and inflammation. plus, in clinical studies, celebrex is proven to improve daily physical function so moving is easier. and celebrex is not a narcotic. when it comes to relieving your arthritis pain, you and your doctor need to balance the benefits with the risks. all prescription nsaids, like celebrex, ibuprofen, naproxen, and meloxicam have the same cardiovascular warning. they all may increase the chance of heart attack or stroke, which can lead to death. this chance increases if you have heart disease or risk factors such as high blood pressure or when nsaids are taken for long periods. nsaids, including celebrex, increase the chance of serious skin or allergic reactions or stomach and intestine problems, such as bleeding and ulcers, which can occur without warning and may cause death. patients also taking aspirin and the elderly are at increased risk for stomach bleeding and ulcers. do not take celebrex if you've had an asthma attack, hives, or other allergies to aspirin, nsaids or sulfonamides. get help right away if you have swelling of the face or throat, or trouble breathing. tell your doctor your medical history and find an arthritis treatment for you. visit celebrex.com and ask your doctor about celebrex. for a body in motion. keeping them honest tonight. with a disturbing new report that the agency tasked with keeping us safe while we travel is spending millions of dollars on screening equipment sitting in warehouses unused. it's fact according to the house transportation oversight committee. the tsa tried to hide it from congress. this comes in the wake of the foiled al qaeda plot to blow up a plane bound for the united states. the goal had been to use an innovative type of bomb. it would reportedly be difficult to detect even in a patdown. security concerns at airports are more serious than ever. today a scathing congressional report said the tsa is storing about 5700 pieces of security equipment at warehouses in dallas, texas. equipment worth an estimated $184 million. the report also says the tsa dragged its feet when congress tried to get information about how it buys and stores screening equipment. the tsa, quote, provided inaccurate, incomplete and potentially misleading information to congress in order to conceal the agency's continued mismanagement of warehouse operations. in response, the department of homeland security said the tsa buys technology in bulk to save money but doesn't buy more inventory than it expects to use. that it quote, utilizes warehouse space as staging locations until airports are able to accept the equipment. the congressional report says the vast majority of that equipment has been sitting there more than six months and that 35% of the equipment has been in storage more than a year. get this, according to congress, it's costing the tsa $3.5 million just to store that equipment at the dallas warehouse. at a hearing on capitol hill today, a tsa official said that's down from $7.6 million in 2009. so while the tsa seems to want to highlight how much it's trying to save taxpayers, the congressional report says all it's really doing is throwing millions of dollars at the problem of airport security without solving anything. representative darrell issa is leading this investigation, the head of the house oversight committee, a republican. i spoke with him earlier this evening. congressman issa, $184 million of equipment sitting around in warehouses not being used. that seems like just on the face of it an enormous