Editor's Note: Peter Heck returns to the studio and to the Liberty Tree on June 18.

Much has been made of, and indeed Peter has talked plenty about, the decision of President Obama to come out in support of gay marriage in the United States.  But besides the theological ramifications (which come first), and the celebrations amongst Hollywood elites, how does the decision affect the 2012 electoral map?

When former Bush strategist Mark McKinnon was on Face the Nation on CBS a while back, he thought that from an electoral standpoint the decision might be viewed as courageous, but nevertheless foolish.

Offering an overview of some of the most competitive battlegrounds in Democrat Obama’s re-election bid, McKinnon said, “You net look at those states and think about where’s that going to help him, probably just one -- Colorado. And maybe New Hampshire.”

In other swing states -- including Florida, Ohio, Virginia, Iowa, Arizona, Missouri and North Carolina -- “arguably, it’s a net loser,” McKinnon said of Obama publicly expressing support for same-sex marriage in an interview May 9 with ABC News.

One of the other dynamics that McKinnon did not bring up was the effect this issue will have on social conservatives.  Many of them were not (and are not) pleased with the ascension of Romney to the top of the Republican ticket.  The question that was debated prior to Obama’s announcement was whether or not opposition to Obama’s radical agenda would be enough to motivate these socons to get out and vote for Romney.  Some suggested a socon Veep pick could help.

At least at this point, neither one of those seems overly necessary to bring in the socons.  Not after Obama made this move.  Obama made the calculation that the money was worth it – that there wasn’t a bad time to do the wrong thing if it gained you some funds.  He may have chosen poorly.