David Mixner's been in the political fray for over forty years, since Martin Luther King inspired the burgeoning activist's social responsbility.

In the years that followed, Mixner fought battles great and small, worked inside campaigns, got arrested protesting unjust wars, joined the McGovern Commission - which rewrote the Democratic party's rules - and would later rally gays around his old friend Bill Clinton, whom Mixner met while crusading against the Vietnam War. Mixner went on to join Clinton's campaign and became the first openly gay man actively - and very publicly - involved in a presidential election.

Those were optimistic times, but Clinton would later break with Mixner by signing Don't Ask, Don't Tell, which prohibits openly gay soldiers from serving in the military. Furious over Clinton's apparent betrayal, Mixner came out against the discriminatory policy, a move which ended up getting him booted from the inner circle. Of course, Mixner's always been more comfortable on the outside. In fact, he describes himself as "the best outsider on the inside."

Now, as we charge toward November, Mixner's hoping to bring the gays to another Democratic presidential candidate, Barack Obama. During a recent conference call with the Senator's campaign, Mixner invoked the Clinton campaign, saying:

[This is] probably for the first time since the 1992 convention, we have an extraordinary opportunity to make history as a community. We have four months to do it, so we must gather and unite in our opposition to McCain and in an opportunity to really create something special in this country – not only for the country, but for ourselves and future generations of LGBT people.

Considering Mixner's mixed career, editor Andrew Belonsky chose to start this interview on a decidedly untraditional note…

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The ever-opinionated politico David Mixner talks jock this morning, chatting with OutSports about the strained relationship between the athletic and lavender worlds. Mixner, who's a Bill Clinton chum, hypothesizes that endorsements prevent sports stars from embracing social progression:

Outsports: Few athletes seem to embrace social activism. Why do you think that is?

David Mixner: The clear answer to this question is just one simple word - endorsements. I also believe that many professional athletes skipped college,where they might have gained access to more social activism, and went directly into a sports league.

We're going to indulge our cynicism and put more weight on the endorsement side.

The presidential race hits critical mass this week as candidates prepare for Super Tuesday. Semantics aside, the Democratic contenders - Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton - are hoping to boost their standing by nabbing former rival John Edwards' gay supporters. And Obama seems to be in the lead.

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