Elizabeth Edwards came to San Francisco's Gay Pride event yesterday and gave her complete and unequivocal approval to gay marriage:
Elizabeth Edwards, starring at the kickoff event of San Francisco's Gay Pride Parade, came out in support of legalized same-sex marriage Sunday -- taking a position that she acknowledged is at odds with her husband, presidential candidate John Edwards.
"I don't know why somebody else's marriage has anything to do with me," she said. "I'm completely comfortable with gay marriage"...
Edwards said she has come to the conclusion that the marriage of another couple "makes no difference to me," just as it would make no difference in her opinion of a neighbor if he painted his house a different color.
"If he's pleasant to me on the street, if his children don't throw things in my yard, then I'm happy," she said. "It seems to me we're making issues of things that honestly ... don't matter."
You probably read about it yesterday, or this morning. It made a lot of the papers and news services. One place you wouldn't read about it: John Edwards' website.
The Edwards' campaign got some pretty good press when it was announced Elizabeth would come to San Francisco to speak to a breakfast gathering on the morning of the Pride Parade. From the SF Chronicle:
Elizabeth Edwards' scheduled appearance Sunday at a major San Francisco Gay Pride event represents a first for a major presidential candidate or spouse -- one that activists said reflects the growing clout of gay and lesbians as voters and their continued move into the political mainstream...
"It certainly is another barrier falling,'' said author and gay activist David Mixner, a Clinton administration adviser who backs Edwards in the 2008 race.
"There's been a taboo on any (candidate)-related Gay Pride events,'' he said, with major presidential hopefuls steering away because the event has been viewed largely in the mainstream media as a no-holds-barred celebration of the gay lifestyle...
"The myth of what Pride is will be exploded ... and that taboo will now be removed,'' he said. "And I can't think of a better person to do it than Elizabeth Edwards. She won't let people tell her where she can go and who she can talk to.''
A diary at the Edwards' site linked to this story. There was also an announcement on the "Coming Events" list, since removed (which is to be expected).
Since then, however: nothing.
Despite the number of press stories about Elizabeth Edwards' coming out for gay marriage yesterday, Edwards' site has made absolutely no mention of it. Not on its front page, under "News Headlines" or "On the Campaign Trail" headings, not under its "News Room" section, or in that section's "Headlines," "Press Releases" or "Speeches" subsections.
And no blog entires or diaries, aside from the one lone diary posted the day the Chronicle story came out.
In his appearance on this evening's "Tonight Show", Edwards came out against gay marriage:
The former North Carolina senator, with his wife at his side on Leno's couch, said he was unaware of her position on gay marriage and was surprised to learn about it while reading the newspaper.
"A lot of people I love and care about feel the same way Elizabeth does," Edwards said. "I'm very strong about ending discrimination against gay and lesbian couples."
"But I'm not quite where Elizabeth is yet," he added.
So he was "unaware" of his wife's position? One word: bullshit.
And still absolutely, positively NOTHING on Edwards' website.