Longtime journalist Wayne Besen recently wondered when we’ll have our first gay president. History student and aspiring journo Shaun Jacob Halper, meanwhile, thinks Barack Obama may be the ticket:
If Bill Clinton was, as Toni Morrison once argued, our first Black president, could Barack Obama be our first gay? Is Obama the hope lesbians and gays have been waiting for — and if not, why should all Americans care?
…
Gays are still objects of amusement or fear or hostility, but little else. As one scholar put it over a decade ago, “No one wants to be called a homosexual.”No one, perhaps, but Obama. Obama is rewriting and reframing the cultural discourse on gay and lesbian rights… Obama is creating the cultural conditions within which political, legal, and social change can take place.
Sounds like young Halper’s got himself a bit of a crush.
logan767
I dont know where he would get this idea. Isn’t Obama the candidate who was still uncomfortable with the idea of gay marriage. He’s yet to show us – beyond his recent primary ads – that he’s going to do anything for the gays at all.
Bitch Republic
Obama is just pandering to the gays with some shiny ads. And the gays are all, “Oh, shiny, pretty… I’m voting for him.”
Obama is the Pied Piper, people! Wake up.
JP
James Buchanan was our first gay president.
James
Logan,
Last time I checked neither Clinton or Obama support same-sex marriage.
Gregoire
Abraham Lincoln was gay too. And George Washington and Alexander Hamilton probably had a thing going on too, for that matter.
Rachel
From an article by Matt Gonzalez – who just announced that he’ll be Ralph Nader’s running mate – posted yesterday on San Francisco’s BeyondChron site:
Why should we believe Obama has courage to bring about change? He wouldn’t have his picture taken with San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom when visiting San Francisco for a fundraiser in his honor because Obama was scared voters might think he supports gay marriage (Newsom acknowledged this to Reuters on January 26, 2007 and former Mayor Willie Brown admitted to the San Francisco Chronicle on February 5, 2008 that Obama told him he wanted to avoid Newsom for that reason.)
http://www.beyondchron.org/news/index.php?itemid=5413
Nice thought, Shaun.
hisurfer
No sooner than I think Obama isn’t too bad then something like this comes along that makes me puke in my mouth.
“Gays are still objects of amusement or fear or hostility, but little else.” In what country?
“No one wants to be called a homosexual.” I prefer the term ‘queer’ myself.
“No one, perhaps, but Obama. ” Obama wants to be called homosexual? How’s that again? In general, people who praise Jeebus in public don’t like to be called homosexual.
“Obama is rewriting and reframing the cultural discourse on gay and lesbian rights.” Oh bullshit. Here’s where I upchucked. Metaphorically, at least. The He-Clinton did the same thing sixteen fucking years ago, only he made some specific promises.
Now, what’s up with that two-tone photo you guys have? He looks like that black/white guy in Star Trek who was always trying to kill his white/black twin.
Mary-Lynn Cheney
Don’t vote for the libs – if we get rights Heather will take away my turkey basted baby and my millions of dollars of inherited wealth.
Maverick69
Oh sweet Jesus Rachel, My bad.
I read that as Matt Sanchez. Whew !!!
Vince
“Oh, shiny, pretty… I’m voting for him.â€
Oh those were ads? I thought that was his dick.
lizzyrampage
It’s difficult to separate campaign rhetoric from actual integrity in a race this close…nothing Obama’s said has totally sold me, but that isn’t surprising. What’s more likely is that Halper is excited with other policies of Obama’s and is still naive enough to creatively apply that enthusiasm towards gray areas.
Destiny
sdsdsdsdsd
Bitch Republic
Obama is such a blank slate and so lacking in specific content with all his pretty rhetoric that people such as Halper can project their own ideas of who he is onto him. They’re all going to be severely disappointed if he should somehow persevere against the Republican machine and be elected. He’ll never live up to all the grandiose dreams in their heads.
ChristopherM
Bitch Republic, you can keep repeating Clinton’s lines, but it still isn’t going to make it true. You want substance? Go to his website, click on issues, and read any of his plans for any number of issues. Or perhaps it is less work to just keep dismissing him as a blank slate.
I agree, though, that Wayne Besen is fairly well naive to apply that hope of his to any candidate in this race.
M Shane
i wouldn’t dish Obama because nhe can’t live up to people’s aspirations. At least he inspires peoples best dreams dreams and wishes, at a time when we all wonder when the next bomb(s) will drop, and when people will be chewing on each other.
It still puzzles me that people are so politically naive to imagine that Obama does feel like he has to play to the black voters: even if he doesn’t get that many black votes he has to be ” that black candidate” and can’t alienate the black supporters he has or he stands to seem strange as the first black president. Anyone who expects him to bare his heart is pretty foolish given the preelection situation.
I wish he would nationalize all of the Oil companies, Walgreens and Bectel and Halburton. (Eh he didn’t even hint at that.)
In any case Raul Castro will have him beat as the first gay leader in this Hemisphere (I think-)
Did anyone bring up that fact- that the first Gay president will be in Cuba a communist country.!
Bryan
Wasn’t Lincoln rumored to be gay?
Michael Bedwell
“I am new enough on the national political scene that I serve as a blank screen on which people of vastly different political stripes project their own views.†– Barack Obama, “The Audacity of Hope,” 2006, Crown/Three Rivers Press, 288 pages [the title isn’t even his—it was the name of a sermon by his pastor].
If there were any more projection going on, everyone in America would have third-degree burns.
Halper’s rim job of Obama must result from his confusing all the times Obama has SMILE fucked us to actually fucking us. Yet expect a false pregnancy announcement from Halper any day. Jessica H. Christ! Would someone please go over and check if there are any guns or sharp instruments in Halper’s house. Retardation like this is DANGEROUS!
Bottom line: I hate it because I think his interest in fighting for our rights is only skin deep, but Obama will get the nomination. Still, if you haven’t voted in a primary/caucus yet vote for Sen. Clinton because, well, even I don’t want Obama’s head to explode and the guy is so high on himself now that he’s probably wearing designer diving boots to keep from floating away. Cut into his margin of victory and we might be able to send to Washington a guy who won’t flood the Potomac with his drooling stratospheric opinion of himself. Tell the exit pollers that you didn’t like his lying to us and playing us for stupid and maybe it will scare him into actually doing something in order to get REelected.
UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES stay at home in the general election or vote for John “Drop & Give Me Another 100 Years in Irag-That Pretty Lobbyist Was On Fire When I Sat Down On Her” McCain.
Tony
What I’m seeing here is a lot of Clinton rhetoric about how Obama is just rhetoric.
Obama is a strong candidate with strong and thorough policy positions. Do your homework. Being able to inspire the masses and having substance are not mutually exclusive things. We have one great candidate in Hillary, and another great candidate in Barack–except he’s able to rally people on both sides of the line behind him.
Anyway, there is some pretty strongly-worded stuff here in this message released today, which further affirms my support for Barack: http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/alexokrent/gGggJS
Really. Why do we care so much about marriage? It’s equal rights and protections under the law that we need–and I don’t think the heavily divisive and religiously-charged issue of “marriage” is the way to accomplish that. Marriage is an antiquated institution we should be fighting to do away with, in favor of universal, civil unions.
M Shane
You said it: but the American public can’t be so stupid as to blame someone for not living up to their projections. Or can they? In any case this is the land where stars are made! at least since people stopped making or being able to make themselves a long time ago-(that passe’ American dream”bs).
Bitch Republic
Not only did Obama plagiarize the title of his book “The Audacity of Hope” from his pastor, Jeremiah Wright Jr., but his pastor is a notorious anti-Semite. Do you really want to support a candidate who hangs out with anti-Semites?
Bitch Republic
M Shane, the American public is stupid enough to blame Obama if he doesn’t live up to their sky-high expectations for him.
ChristopherM
BR, Obama has been very open that the title came from a sermon by Wright. It would be just like if he wrote a song titled “The Audacity of Hope” and said it was inspired by a sermon. As for the anti-semitism charge, you’re really willing to imply that Obama is an anti-semite because his pastor went on a trip with Louis Farrakahn back in 1984? I hope I’m never judged by things my friends did 24 years ago, otherwise I’ll be lucky to get a job at the Taco Bell.
So what’s next, are you going to inform us all that Obama took his oath of office on the Koran?
BillieXX
BR,
Obama has said a number of times that he took the title of his book from Rev. Wright, so the plagiarism charge does not stick. Rev. Wright has said some crazy stuff (Wright is a fan of Minister Farrakhan)and Obama has made it clear he and his pastor do not agree on certain things; however, he’s going to have to make a clearer line between Wright and himself.
Bitch Republic
Like Hillary said in the debate the other night, she wouldn’t even associate with an anti-Semite like Wright, but Obama not only associates with him, but he incorporates his beliefs into his own, as evidenced by the book title, among other things.
M Shane
I can’t believe that Obama is truely that ignorant himself I think that he’s doing a lot to be electable. And as you said Bitch Rep. the american people are a prety dim bunch and
the real danger in having a candidate who can’t live up to a bunch of pie in the sky expectations,as well as crazy ones be they of his own making or not is that he ends up not being reelectable.
Alan down in Florida
Leave us not forget bi-president George W. Bush who had a relationship with his Yale roommate and who was a male cheerleader in college. After all, there was a study done in Britain on male college cheerleaders and found out that 70% were gay.
Michael Bedwell
Actually the most important angle about Obama and Rev. Wright is not the title sharing—I’m sure he had permission, I just wanted to ding him for his lack of originality.
The IMPORTANT point is that Rev. Wright got disinvited from Obama’s huge candidacy-announcing rally when concern’s about being associated with Wright’s controversial views were raised. But a homohating singer—noooooo, Obama had NO problem paying for a stage for him to perform on in Obama’s name—even after gays, black and white, BEGGED him not to.
What does that tell you about Mr. Integrity; Mr. Not Politically Expedient?
BillieXX
BR,
Rev. Wright has been accused of a lot. Most of it fairly. Being an anti-Semite is not a fair charge.
leomoore
The last time I remember a candidate who was hyped this much was in 1972. His name was George McGovern who ended up carrying one state and the district of Columbia. Just as in 1972 when I was 18 and voting for the first time, I will vote for another losing Democrat.
Bill Perdue
Obama is dead set on locking up the nominating process by promising everyone everything. That explains the farce in Ohio. Obama and Clinton shamelessly lie about their common and long term support for NAFTA, The only time they actually tell the truth is when they denounce each other for supporting NAFTA. In fact bipartisan support for NAFTA, deregulation of corporate predators, tax cuts for the rich and cuts in welfare, unemployment insurance and heath care and the export of jobs have put us on the edge of economic chaos.
The Hillaryhacks are getting desperate and that explains their piss ant charges of plagiarism. Accusations of this or that petty wrongdoing will be flying until a nominee is chosen.
Much more serious though is the Dixiecrat Clintonites use of the ‘race’ card and muslim card. They never raise any specific charges: their goal is to endlessly remind everyone about his ethnicity and mulsim ties. It’s a desperate, last ditch effort to ‘wake up’ the century old coalition of KKK types and southern baptists who can swing the vote in South and parts of the Midwest. Not unsurprisingly these are also the first notes of the Republican attack on Obama, who they rightly fear will clobber them come November.
It’s a tactic the christian loving Clintonites are particularly experienced at using. They used it in 1996 to boast of Bill Clinton’s christian support for DOMA until HRC made him back down. They’re still using it. Two days ago Hillary Clinton appeared on Pat Roberson’s CBN network to explain her deep commitment to ‘christian values’, one of which is her pigheaded opposition to samesex marriage. She also took a few cheap shots at Ralph Nader, an indisputable American hero. The Democrats love to blame him for the elections they lost all on their own in 2004 and 2004. She bitterly explained that Nader is just a tool of the Republicans, the same slander she uses against Edwards, Obama and anyone else reckless enough to get in her way. Earlier Pat Robertson expressed his deep admiration for Clinton and congratulated her for ‘tacking to the right†as hard and as fast as she could.
In terms of the GLBT agenda both Obama and Billery continue to pander to bigots. But outrageous as Obama is as he repeatedly hops into bed with bigoted vermin like Donnie McKulkin and Mary Mary, Billery Clinton goes way beyond him, trawling for the votes of the senile bigots who dote on Pat Robertson, the bible fascist.
http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/328257.aspx.
Neither candidate is worth supporting. Both Obama and Clinton continue to support the genocide in Iraq by funding it. Both oppose socialized medicine, full citizenship rights for immigrant and imported workers and samesex marriage, Neither lifted a finger to stop Barney Frank, Pelosi, and Reid when they gutted ENDA and then tossed it and the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes bill overboard. Neither has presented motions to repeal DOMA, DADT and NAFTA, to impeach Bush and Cheney or call for an International War Crimes Tribunal.
A vote for either is a vote for Bush Lite – more war, a deeper economic crisis and bigotry.
DON'T DRINK THE PUNCH
The Obama Spin machine is hard at work destroying our confidence in the hope that there is any genuine Gay candidate.
By painting the “doomsday” scenario” that you can read in the post by Bill Perdue, 2/29/08 5:09 am. We are being led to believe that this politician that has NEVER DONE NOTHING FOR ANYONE?! is somehow going to herald in a new era of human rights for LGBT Americans?
I don’t see it, read the facts, listen to multiple media outlets. There are three sides to every story, the left, the right and the truth. There is no media that delivers the truth.
DON’T DRINK THE OBAMA PUNCH!
M Shane
Clearly you’ve already had way to much punch
Self righteousness doesn’t need any better psture than yours: you’re saying NO THING, Ms Punch.
If you can’t be constructive, then please don’t drag other people into your dismal slough.
M Shane
It would be better to pull down the political lines in this site if it’s just a post for people to blow off their selfish, frustrated anger. The truth is that this country has for some long time been stupidly drawn into corpratization for years. You’ve made it that way folks. Don’t piss and moan now.
PLAY THE CARDS YOU’RE DEALT ! I’m no happier than anyone else and maybe less. I t appears that no one knows how dangerous this situation is.
frankiemn
Neither of them are going to be out there waving a rainbow flag for us. Right now they’re just pandering for our votes. But things will certainly be one hell of a lot worse with a Repub in the WH. I just want a Dem candidate that can WIN.
After the final party nominations the Repubs will pull out their big guns and take aim with all the dirty Rovian smears underhanded tactics they can muster. I have doubts whether Obama can hold up to the attacks. The Clintons have been pretty thoroughly vetted. I think Hillary has the tenacity and experience to better weather the storm.
fredo777
Whatever.
I don’t think Obama himself is an Anti-semite, which would be fairly ridiculous, all things considered. Nor do I think Hillary is any more pro-gay marriage than Obama is. So, if you’re going to call him out for that, let’s keep it fair + call her out for the same.
Pandering for votes? Who isn’t? I still think he’s made more effort to include us than she has, which definitely sways my vote in his direction.
M Shane
Agreed entirely: given all the hatred that’s being spun amongst the rabid croud, it seems as if they went to the Rove/Bush scool of hate fear, and deception. I’d vote against any gay candidate who was such a pisser, just on general princilpes of inability to think.
Katie
Reply to the posting of Alan Down from Florida
Alan you are a total idiot and there is no viable
evidence to your false claims. I suppose then I should realize you are on drugs and dope and don’t know what day it is with that said you are a disgusting piece of garbage mouth.
Your return reply is not accepted
Liz
Obama isnt gay
people r just hatin
cuz hell be da best president
unlike bush
M Shane
Liz: it would be impossible to find a worse president than Bush. Only McCain will keep his wheel rolling. What could be more idiotic than to say tha Obama was anti-semetic. The Jews are an important part of the liberal part of America. Their history with Fascism in Germany leaves them with raw feelings toward Fascists like McCain & the NeoCons.
leomoore
M Shane, I don’t think Obama is anti-semitic, but that does not mean that all black Americans aren’t anti-semitic. It is also not true to say that all Jews are not capable of fascist behaviours. Jews have fundamentalists who are just as rabid as Christian or Muslim fundamentalists. We should not overlook the fact that a number of the Neocons are Jews who traveled from youthful liberalism to Machiavellian conservatism where ends justify means.
In my opinion, Israel has demonstrated many times over, the corruption of military occupation of another people on its own society. It has become just as oppressive in the Occupied Territories as the Nazis in Occupied Europe. There isn’t much difference in my view of locking people into a ghetto in Warsaw with no access to resources and locking people behind a fence in Gaza. Just as the Gestapo would wipe out entire villages to punish one or two people, the Israelis have been so corrupted by the past forty years they will kill many to punish one.
When I look at the history of the Holocaust, I am aghast at the failure of so many to remember the lessons of that evil or to weave self-justification from it; even some of those whose families suffered so much in the death camps of the 30s and 40s. Bush has certainly not been shy about using the appeasement of 1938 to justify his own horrors.
Bill Perdue
leomoore accurately described the relationship of the zionist state to the Palestinians, which is to say that the zionists learned all the wrong lessons from the Nazis.
The zionists, after abandoning European Jews to their fate, set out to impose a refugee colonial-settler state on a muslim population. From Dier Yassin in 1948 to Gaza today they’ve used methods pioneered by the Nazis, the worst of which is a calculated campaign of murdering Palestinians civilians whose land they’ve stolen. They zionists havn’t been ‘corrupted’ along the way, they entered history with a campaign of stealing land by murdering civilians. Gaza is just more of the same.
Unlike the Nazis, the terrorist campaigns of the Zionists haven’t yet killed millions but their bunker mentality and possession of nukes puts the whole region in jeopardy of nuclear genocide.
M Shane
leomoore & Bill : I have never assumed that there was anything but an incredible degree of
selfrighteous and genocidal brutality in zionist thought. I need to do more research into that history. Clearly, it’s a setup for further arab victimization; and apparently Isreal has a significant stock of nucks which are illegal but tacitly approved–that is insane in the middle east.
I assume that Milton Freidman was a Jew;he was the economic theoretician behind most of the brutal oppression in So. America resulting from American policy; also the priest of radical free trade. Indeed he was a fascist, in my opinion.
As far as American jews go, I have known a number of fairly liberal or socialistic folks, but I may be wrong to generalize.
It is not bad psychology to assume that people who are abused go on to adopt the mentality of their abusers. That is a subject that I have much to find out about.
Most certainly, many black Americans are antisemetic. I am still of the opinion that Obama’s connection with that group is almost incidental, and something which he needs to hold together for appearances-his candidacy would colapse if black people saw him as somehow alien.
leomoore
M. Shane, I agree that Obama’s connection with the anti-semitic elements in the African American community is most likely incidental. He probably feels he has to keep up appearances, by adapting to his audience of the moment. I think the most applicable colloquial proverb that applies to all politicians but perhaps particularly to Obama is “Lie down with dogs, get up with fleas”.
I am dismayed increasingly by the Democratic campaign. I would truly prefer to see both Clinton and Obama convincing me by going after John McCain. Rather than demonstrating their individual abilities to take on Republicans, they slice up each other. No good will come from that.
I don’t want to give the impression that I am pro-Palestinian. I am not particularly impressed by Palestinian attacks either. Israel pulled back a couple of years ago in part to make a first move to end the fighting. The Palestinians elected extremists. The Israelis withdrew from Gaza and militant Palestinians kidnapped Israeli soldiers. When Israel launched a military effort to rescue the soldiers, Palestinians in Lebanon kidnapped soldiers. The Israelis launched attacks in Lebanon. The cycle was renewed. So nothing has changed. Some Palestinians want to drive Jews into the sea and some Israelis have adopted an attitude that the best Palestinian is a dead Palestinian.
M Shane
leomoore; one of my worst fears is that you could right about Obama. Most certainly i’ve become exhausted and disgusted with the infighting between Obama and Clinton, it may just cost the Democrats the election. It is so petty and selfish really. I am also concerned that there has been little discussion regarding
the economic direction that will be taken–I share Bill’s concern for unregulated business practices and the rapidly enlarging reduction of the middle class and the immense gulf between rich and poor.
Keeping history in mind, you will recall that the precurser of Naziism was Hyperinflation & unemployment in Germany. Given the kind of
free floating 7 violent ant-gay talk, the genocide of Arabs and persians, the pervasiveness of torture, the corruption of civil rights etc. We are heading into a slam dunk depression which could be very serious. The price of gas will be $4 this spring.General Wallin who stood against war in Iraq quit out of frustration with the Bush hawks. There is a troop build up in Iraq. All of these things point in a dangerous direction to what could happen here. I may be extreme, but so much has happened without our knowledge or consent.
I am very pro Palestinian, and feel that it was just an incredibly stupid move to plop a bunch of European Jews in the middle of Moslim countries. To me it must have had the makings of a grander scheme of genocide and western hegemony in the Middle East.
How could anyone possibly think that that would work out. I’m not antisemetic, I think that is possible.at least theoretically. My sister and brother are married to Jews who are by no means traditional; I have had a lot of jewish friends.
I really don’t know that I can condone any group who can go in an brutalize a whole innocent population because they believe it is their fate and right to do so. It’s just a potential powderkeg right in the middle of an area where American imperialists have asperations. Look at what they have done over the last 50 years in So America.
Sarah M.
I thought the Barak was gay while at Columbia.
M Shane
Sarah: If someone told me that he was gay I would certainly believe them right off. He is articulate, andvery inspired, right brained, full of fresh thoughts and perceptions. Even if he is, he seems too spontaneous and I don’t think that he would be able to decieve people that well. It seems as if he and Michel have got a really good relationship.
Also he’s exceptionally compassionate, which can happen with oursiderers, but he has been outside of a lot if situations in his life.
Mitchell
It was rumured that James Buchanan was gay.