^^^ The unemployment rate is actually higher than that when you take into account all the people who have simply stopped looking for jobs and no longer factor into the official statistics.
That's why I said officially. This has always been true though. Unemployment statistics are based on unemployment claims, and a lot of people don't go on unemployment for a variety of reasons. Despite my liberal views, I've never used unemployment or food stamps even though there have been times I have qualified for both. I'm not saying I never would, but a lot of people don't. Its really stupid that they base unemployment on that. Its also why you will never see the unemployment numbers that existed before they did the count this way today. In the great depression I believe unemployment peaked around 25%, but that was based on actual estimates of employment and the population that were of the working age. If they took it today under those conditions it probably would show at like 15%.
And it may be 8%, but I wouldn't be surprised if it gets there by November (again, officially, not the real number). Reagan got reelected in '84 with something around 9% unemployment, but part of that had to do with the fact that the number was dropping (like Obama's is) so people trusted that things were getting better, and even feared that the delicate situation could turn bad again without him. Obama can potentially have this in his favor, and also has in his favor the fact that things went to shit before he was in office.
And in terms of the significance of his change of opinion and the fact that the laws are still on the book, he is the executive, not a legislator, he can't make or change laws, but he can refuse to enforce them (as he already has with DOMA) and he can use the bully pulpit to bring the issue up in a positive way, and can sign bills into law that can overturn DOMA while vetoing things like constitutional amendments banning same sex marriage.
Also, with NC, he could have blown it, but at the same time, NC has a very large black population which is a lot more likely to back Obama than they are to vote to support gay marriage. We'll see what happens though. I'll probably respect him even more if he loses some states because of it though.