Dick Cheney has come out in support of gay marriage, a policy that only around 40-45% of Americans support. Obama refuses to repeal Don't Ask Don't Tell, a policy that 75% of Americans favor repealing.
This isn't a diary to praise Dick Cheney. I'm grateful that he came out for equal rights, but that doesn't change all the horrible things he's done and how he sat on the sidelines while Bush ran his crusade against marriage equality. Rather, this is a diary to point out Obama's (lack of) action on LGBT issues.
While on his campaign site, and on change.gov, Obama clearly spelled out that he supported repealing the Defense of Marriage act and repealing Don't Ask Don't Tell. However, his promise to repeal DOMA has been completely taken off while his promise to repeal DADT has been re-worded with weasel words.
Robert Gibbs frequently deflects questions about Obama's support for LGBT rights. The President has had no statement on Prop 8 being upheld, or the breakthrough in marriage equality for Vermont, Iowa, Maine, and soon to be New Hampshire. Defense secretary Gates has admitted that talks to end DADT have gone nowhere, and some of Obama's advisors said they "don't know" if DADT will be repealed.
Frequently, along with his apologists, they say "he has a lot on his plate right now". Really? Weren't we all just criticizing the Republicans for saying Obama can't walk and chew gum at the same time? I guess that rule goes out the window when you have to touch the sensitive subject of "teh gays", despite the fact that repealing or even putting a hold on DADT would require virtually no political capital, and would only enrage the far right wing that gets enraged at anything he does anyway.
So why is Obama silent on gay issues? Is it because he has too much to do? He's had a change of heart and now is anti-gay? In an effort to be "bipartisan" and "compromise" with the far right wing, he's the throwing gays under the bus? He just faked support of gay rights since Hillary Clinton already had the "conservative Democrat" vote locked up in the primary anyway?
Nobody knows why, but we do know this:
P.S. - To the inevitable "it's only _ days since he's been in office!!!" - tell me, how long do I have to wait again before I can criticize him? When he's running again in 2012?