Ronald Reagan remains an anathema among gay folk. Progressive Victory president and journalist Hans Johnson reminds readers that The Gipper - who the GOP still adore like a high school crush - wasn't the worst Republican when it came to gay politics.

Johnson's argument revolves around Reagan's 1978 letter condemning the Briggs Initiative, which would have prohibited gays from teaching in California schools and other teachers from "promoting" homosexuality, whatever that means…

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Logo's Jason Bellini sat down with Hillary Clinton last week to talk - what else? - presidential election. The duo discuss ENDA, Don't Ask, Don't Tell and what Clinton whispered to Barack Obama after last week's CNN debate.

Color us crazy, but Barack Obama's campaign hit the creative mark with their recent rally placards. We haven't always been the biggest fan of Obama's campaign tactics - we railed against them after the Donnie McClurkin scandal, which we felt highlighted a glaring flaw in the candidate's ability to fact-check. Obama's recent art direction has won them some points in our book.

Obama's original posters were exclusively blue, obviously a tone associated with the Democratic party. Red, of course, has been seen as the Republican party's primary color. We Americans have become so accustomed to the idea of a red and blue America that many of us are incapable of imagining uniting The States. By incorporating red into his rallies, Obama's offering a subtle aesthetic olive branch - or hoping that Republican voters will be swayed by the familiar pigment.

Illustrator Shepard Fairey's new poster only entrenches the campaign's message: Barack Obama - a man of mixed race - can help mix up the political landscape. He can bring red and blue together to unite America. That's what they want us to think, of course.

We contacted Obama's campaign to find out who spear-headed this integrated placard approach, but no one owned up to it. He or she really should, because this mysterious art director deserves a bonus!

Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton sure were chummy during last night's CNN-sponsored debate. Obama started off on the right foot by assuring the voters - particularly the Democrats - that he and Hillary are friends. Said the Senator from Illinois, "And I also want to note that I was friends with Hillary Clinton before we started this campaign; I will be friends with Hillary Clinton after this campaign is over." He did, however, first thank John Edwards, the Democrats new saint, as one pundit put it later in the evening.

Clinton also gave Edwards some love, but made sure to extend an olive branch to Obama, as well.

The debate turned out to be less bickering and more mutual masturbation as the candidates took a unified front. "As we move forward in this debate," said Obama, "Understand we are both Democrats and we understand the issues at stake. We want change from George Bush." Clinton echoed Obama's comments, but with a bit more self-awareness than the younger politico, "I think we as Democrats have to be willing to fight for universal health care."

Iraq proved to be the only place the candidates showed real difference as Clinton again defended her vote to go to war. Regardless of this bellicose difference, Obama and Clinton sure did make a great show of it, which inevitably led to the trouble-making Wolf Blitzer (who, we feel, picked on Hillary unnecessarily) to inquire:

The more I speak to Democrats out there — not only the Democrats here at the Kodak Theatre, but all over the country — they take a look at the two of you and they see potentially a dream ticket. A dream ticket for the White House.

There may have been some nasty words exchanged or angry words or whatever, but the question is this: Would you consider an Obama/Clinton or Clinton/Obama ticket going down the road?

Things got so hot in the theater, Stevie Wonder stood up and did a bit of a jig. Perhaps he was shaking off some political ejaculate?

Obama left the door open a little more than Clinton, who also used the occasion for a bit of tacky self-promotion for her national town hall meeting Monday. (Strategist Mark Penn later got a plug in on MSNBC, as well. Shrewd!) The message was clear, though: "We are both dedicated to doing the best we can to win the nomination, but there is no doubt we will have a unified Democratic Party."

It seems to us that a Clinton/Obama ticket may be the best route for the Democrats. We put Clinton first because, let's face it, Hillary ain't going to be VP, especially not to Barack Obama. Obama, however, could fit quite nicely in the role and such a scheme could potentially lay the groundwork for a sixteen year Democratic run. That is, however, a bit of a quixotic, potentially naive projection - and not necessarily what the candidates want. The Democratic candidates, however, would be well-advised to consider such a tag team.

Ronald Reagan's name came up 53 times during last night's Republican debate. These guys have a total hard on for the former president. In fact, rumor has it that Mitt Romney came in his pants when comparing himself to the Gipper.

Bill Rosendahl threw his weight behind Democrat Barack Obama today. Rosendahl, the first openly gay member of the Los Angeles City Council, specifically cited Obama's pro-gay record: "Barack Obama is a leader of uncommon vision, great principle and deep conviction. He has a proven track record of standing up for LGBT civil rights. I am convinced he is the candidate who is most genuinely committed to fighting for our civil rights."

Ralph Nader just can't quit ruining presidential races. The politico launched an exploratory committee to test the electoral waters. He gets an 'A' for tenaciousness, but a big fat 'F' for pragmatism.

And then there were two…

Former Senator John Edwards has dropped out of the presidential race. He will not endorse another candidate just yet. From the AP:

Democrat John Edwards is exiting the presidential race Wednesday, ending a scrappy underdog bid in which he steered his rivals toward progressive ideals while grappling with family hardship that roused voters' sympathies but never diverted his campaign, The Associated Press has learned.

The two-time White House candidate notified a close circle of senior advisers that he planned to make the announcement at a 1 p.m. EST event in New Orleans that had been billed as a speech on poverty, according to two of his advisers. The decision came after Edwards lost the four states to hold nominating contests so far to rivals who stole the spotlight from the beginning _ Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama.

The former North Carolina senator will not immediately endorse either candidate in what is now a two-person race for the Democratic nomination, said one adviser, who spoke on a condition of anonymity in advance of the announcement.

Edwards waged a spirited top-tier campaign against the two better-funded rivals, even as he dealt with the stunning blow of his wife's recurring cancer diagnosis. In a dramatic news conference last March, the couple announced that the breast cancer that she thought she had beaten had returned, but they would continue the campaign.

Their decision sparked a debate about family duty and public service. But Elizabeth Edwards remained a forceful advocate for her husband, and she was often surrounded at campaign events by well-wishers and emotional survivors cheering her on.

Edwards planned to announce his campaign was ending with his wife and three children at his side. Then he planned to work with Habitat for Humanity at the volunteer-fueled rebuilding project Musicians' Village, the adviser said.

With that, Edwards' campaign will end the way it began 13 months ago _ with the candidate pitching in to rebuild lives in a city still ravaged by Hurricane Katrina. Edwards embraced New Orleans as a glaring symbol of what he described as a Washington that didn't hear the cries of the downtrodden.
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The loss in South Carolina was especially hard because it was where he was born and he had won the state in 2004. But Edwards performed well enough to pick up 58 delegates.

We can't say we're heartbroken, especially because we never really considered him a real candidate.

Huffington Post's Sam Stein reports that Floridian citizens have received a robo-call blasting McCain competitor Mitt Romney for promising gays "special rights". Here's the text:

Mitt Romney thinks he can fool us. He supported abortion on demand, even allowed a law mandating taxpayer-funding for abortion. He says he changed his mind, but he still hasn't changed the law. He told gay organizers in Massachusetts he would be a stronger advocate for special rights than even Ted Kennedy. Now, it's something different.

It's tempting to dismiss this as primarily primary shenanigans, but National Stonewall Democrats' Jon Hoadley thinks otherwise:

Sometimes McCain gets a pass because he wasn't a staunch supporter of the federal marriage amendment, but he showed his true colors when he campaigned…to pass the marriage ban in Arizona. When the community is looking at McCain, they need to look at the true record he was adamantly opposed to one of the groundbreaking victories in 2006.

Stein rightly points out that McCain - also known as The Hulk - has flip-flopped on marriage just the same as Mitt. McCain promised in 2004 that he would not endorse a federal amendment against gay marriage. That stance shifted two years later when McCain said otherwise to the late Jerry Falwell.

It's worth noting that openly gay Republican John Kolbe dismissed the call as a simple "statement of fact," not "gay-baiting". True or not, it's the motive that counts.

We gay folk came up twice during the Kennedy clan's massive Barack Obama endorsement. While some homos are cheering on the black senator, David over at Gay Conservative Liberal ain't feeling the love: "Barack is simply not prepared to take on the threats posed to this country by the Middle East and our woeful energy policy."

Rudy Giuliani needs a big win in Florida today. Will he get it? Probably not. So, what's next? A John McCain endorsement, hypothesizes MSNBC's Chuck Todd.

A Hamptons-based journo recently referred to Hillary Clinton as a "bull dyke". And guess what?! The gays went ape shit. So ape shit, in fact, they even canceled dinner reservations at the paper's gay owner's restaurant! They mean business.

The presidential candidates have been channeling David Bowie…

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