President Obama can try all he wants, but barring unforeseen catastrophic national security issues, the economy is going to decide his fate.

Endorsing gay marriage (again) doesn’t lower the deficit; or affect jobless claims; or provide cover for all the “clean energy” ripoffs; or undo Obamacare; or halt the labor force exodus; or get rid of Obama’s $5 trillion in new debt. The distraction will be short-lived. Besides, gays buy gas and groceries too.

It’s like the Titanic is preparing to take its fatal plunge and in order to placate those who are demanding that he do something about it the Captain comes out and says “Okay, dudes can marry dudes now!”

In closing, Obama knows why the troops — specifically gay troops — are out there fighting. The reason? For him:

“I have to tell you that over the course of several years as I talked to friends and family and neighbors, when I think about members of my own staff who are in incredibly committed 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 are 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.”

I don’t exactly think the battle cry in the US military is “Now let’s go get Obama re-elected!”

This new staffer is no doubt charged with finding ways to jam Obama administration propaganda into the nooks and crannies of as many games possible under the guise of “education”:

If you’re training for a new job someday soon with a video game controller in your hands, thank Constance Steinkuehler.

This summer, when your kids’ favorite science museum boasts a new augmented-reality environmental simulation? Same deal.

If in the next few years a video game teaches you anything — how to conserve energy, eat a balanced diet or solve quadratic equations — consider the invisible hand of one of the most unconventional White House hires in recent memory.

Steinkuehler studies video games. Since last September, she has been a senior policy analyst at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, where she’s shaping the Obama administration’s policies around games that improve health, education, civic engagement and the environment, among other areas.

So someday if you’re playing “Call of Duty” and Obama pops up to remind you to eat your peas, you can thank Constance Steinkuehler.

President Obama has been critical of parents who don’t set limits on children’s screen time, but he is also coming around to the benefits of well-designed games. In a speech last March at TechBoston Academy, a public middle- and high school, Obama told students he wanted to create “educational software that’s as compelling as the best video game.” He added, “I want you guys to be stuck on a video game that’s teaching you something other than just blowing something up.”

Using the video game industry to push a national agenda makes perfect sense to Ben Sawyer, founder of the group Games for Health. “It’s a strategic asset of the United States,” he says. “Why should we let it sit where it is?”

Screw “Let’s Move,” people — sit on your asses and get indoctrinated all day!

We’ve spent the past three-plus years witnessing the creation of this administration’s debut video game: Grand Theft Economy.

Good news for any of you guys who have been pulling for the Miss Universe pageant to feature more contestants who look like RuPaul and J-Nap:

With newly inclusive pageant rules, transgender women can now aspire to the Miss Universe crown. The Miss Universe Organization announced Tuesday that it will allow contestants who were not born as women to compete for the title, after 23-year-old Miss Canada Jenna Talackova pleaded with pageant officials to reconsider her initial disqualification.

Talackova had begun hormone treatments at 14 and underwent a sex reassignment surgery four years ago. She won the Miss Canada competition, but she was disqualified when pageant officials discovered her history. Talackova, who was represented by celebrity lawyer Gloria Allred, appealed to Donald Trump, the owner of the Miss Universe Organization, and he wished her luck.

If Gloria Allred’s going to have a say in who participates in the Miss Universe contest, within five years the pageant contestants are going to look regulars at the Star Wars cantina.

Joe Paterno, the iconic former Penn State football coach whose legend was tarnished when he was fired in the aftermath of the Jerry Sandusky scandal, has died, his family confirmed Sunday. He was 85.

Doctors had said Saturday that Paterno’s condition had become ”serious” in recent days after he experienced complications from lung cancer.

The winningest major-college football coach of all time with 409 victories and two national titles, Paterno was diagnosed shortly after Penn State’s Board of Trustees ousted him Nov. 9 following the child sex-abuse charges against Sandusky, his former assistant.

I’m more interested in knowing if somebody’s going to try and blow my ass up at the mall this weekend, but whatever.

DHS linked to the video below. Isn’t assuming that a frozen turkey dunked in hot oil will explode in a ball of fire profiling?

Idea for the DHS: Forget about how we’re cooking Thursday’s dinner… instead, line the border with thousands of pots of boiling oil, and when you sense somebody approaching to jump the border, dump a frozen turkey in each one. Oil fire fence! Oh come on, it’s at least as good as Herman Cain’s idea.

Doug Ross has a good catch-phrase for the DHS turkey safety program: “If you see something, baste something.”

Thanks, J-Nap, but if I want turkey frying safety tips, I’ll get them from William Shatner.

(h/t Washington Examiner)