bigots and homophobic. I'm learning this week I was really wrong. From
a Time magazine article:
Gays and lesbians are angry that Barack Obama has honored
Warren, but they shouldn't be surprised. Obama has proved
himself repeatedly to be a very tolerant, very rational-sounding
sort of bigot. He is far too careful and measured a man to say
anything about body parts fitting together or marriage being
reserved for the nonpedophilic, but all the same, he opposes
equality for gay people when it comes to the basic recognition
of their relationships. He did throughout his campaign, one that
featured appearances by Donnie McClurkin, a Christian entertainer
who preaches that homosexuals can become heterosexuals.Obama reminds me a little bit of Richard Russell Jr., the longtime
Senator from Georgia who — as historian Robert Caro has noted
— cultivated a reputation as a thoughtful, tolerant politician even
as he defended inequality and segregation for decades. Obama
gave a wonderfully Russellian defense of Warren on Thursday at
a press conference. Americans, he said, need to "come together"
even when they disagree on social issues. "That dialogue is part
of what my campaign is all about," he said. Russell would often use
the same tactic to deflect criticism of his civil rights record. It was
a distraction, Russell said, from the important business of the day
uniting all Americans. Obama also said today that he is a "fierce
advocate for equality" for gays, which is — given his opposition to
equal marriage rights — simply a lie. It recalls the time Russell
said, "I'm as interested in the Negro people of my state as anyone
in the Senate. I love them."
I just skimmed through the article but I didn't where see Mr. Cloud noted that
President-elect Obama was opposed to Prop 8, which I think is something
significant to state before calling someone a bigot.