Why is this something the White House should even comment on?
So that the next time something like this happens and the next president doesn't say anything about it, the liberal media will wonder aloud and complain about why he or she didn't.
It's the ratchet effect. If one president makes a lot of noise about a hurricane, later presidents are going to be held responsible for fixing things up after the hurricane. If one president heralds enough gay firsts, the next president is going to be expected to do the same.
People who expect tyranny every day may well be disappointed. It's not that the White House is going to call off elections and establish a dictatorship. It's that they're going to alter the people's expectations of what government should, can, and must do.