It still wasn't a wholehearted unabashed approval of it. It honestly struck me as a rare case of someone thinking with their heart rather than their head in politics.
Honestly, the biggest difference between how we view things is that you view inaction as apathy. In politics, you have to pick your battles, because trying and failing can be much worse than doing nothing at all. Whereas I would seem the same situation as you and maybe throw out the criticism that he is being overly cautious (which I feel he is), you instead think it is an indication that he doesn't give a damn about anything but votes. I suppose either way, we won't have to worry about it if he gets reelected will we? Won't be worried about polls as much then.
I'm not going to try to say that Obama is a saint. What I am going to say is that he understands how compromise works, and he understands the importance of it in politics. As such, he can't take firm stances on personal beliefs very often, because he hamstrings himself when he does so. Moral values are usually fairly non-negotiable, so he either sets himself up to be seen as wishy-washy or pandering by doubling back, or butts heads with another group that has similar non-negotiable views. Neither is conducive to compromise.
Not crusading for a cause is NOT the same as not believing in it. Cynicism does not make your opinions reality, and does not allow you access to the inner machinations of politics, or the true motives of politicians.