For those that know me, my views on the misfortune currently impersonating a President are fairly well known. I begin with the notion that if a candidate is excreted from the cesspit of Chicago politics, that such a candidate is irretrievably tainted from square one - regardless of race, religion, orientation, gender or creed. He manages to sink yet further in my estimation through his association with bigots and terrorists such as
Jeremiah Wright and William Ayers,
former Weather Underground terrorist.
I started out unamused amidst the post-election malaise of 2008 and after the smoke and mirrors railroading of ObamaCare through Congress, the
failure of Obama Attorney General Eric Holder to prosecute the obvious attempts at
voter intimidation by the New Black Panthers, and the failed political set-up job of
Fast & Furious orchestrated to promote gun control - at the cost of dead U.S. law enforcement agents and hundreds of Mexicans killed have only grown less amused over time.
The primary accomplishments of the Teleprompter President seem to be unusual skills at script-reading and hurling embarrassing or inconvenient associates under the allegorical bus.
Yet, as a gay man, I am told that I'm supposed to be thrilled at the recent so-called evolution of his views on same sex marriage.
If they were a difference that made a difference, I would be thrilled. If Obama had come out in support of repealing
DOMA or in favor of legal efforts to declare its provisions unconstitutional based on the Full Faith & Credit clause of the federal constitution, it is entirely possible my hostility towards his re-election might be somewhat moderated.
Because, if he'd taken such steps, he'd actually be taking concrete steps towards making a difference and moving us forward towards an increasingly post-bigotry future. A day when race, creed, color, and orientation truly do not make a difference before the law, and the response to someone coming out is "so what?"
Instead, Obama strode forth and declared "“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."
He will not be pushing for this to be included in the 2012 platform of the Democratic Party. He will not be pushing for a repeal of the regrettable Defense of Marriage Act. He will not be directing his walking misfortune of an Attorney General to question the constitutionality of a statute that flies in the faith of Full Faith & Credit.
Instead, he throws a sop to the LGBT community. Words, not action, confident that so long as he stops short of rounding us up and sending us to camps that few, if any, members of the community will commit heresy and deviate from supporting him. No real action, or even courage, however.
From this throwing of a bone, he baits the GOP into pandering to their own special bigots in the theocratic branch of the party. This, in turn, makes there panderers repugnant to those that support civil rights, equality before the law, and basic morality.
I'm pleased that a President, even this one, made supportive comments about same sex marriage. But that pleasure is tempered by knowledge that the statements are hollow political statements intended to buy off one constituency for cheap while inspiring the opposition to self-immolate.