Everything's All Better Now

Proposition 8, making gay people second-class citizens again, passed in California, with the strong support of Latinos and African-Americans. Whites and Asians opposed it. In the last days of the campaign, then-candidate Obama didn't lift a finger to stop it, probably fearing the loss of his stupendous edge among black voters nationwide. And he probably could have stopped it, because California African-Americans and Latinos voted for him 94% and 74%, respectively. Now he's won by stepping on the bodies of 50,000 children of gay couples in California. That's some whoop-de-doo change, buddy.

Obama has spoken nice words about promoting transparency in government using all this technology that was developed during the campaign. For example, the incoming administration has set up a website, change.gov, to manage the transition. It is password-protected.

Obamania!

Update: Apparently they fixed it; change.gov no longer requires a username and password. It will be interesting to see how they work in the Obama logo or some reference to it in the inauguration.

Comments

[Frank]

Hindsight's 20/20.

For Obama to take a stand on this issue before the election would have created an unnecessary, toxic, and distracting stir.

I think he used discretion, which Nero Wolfe always defined as "experience tempered by judgement."

[Frank]

By the way, I just followed the link to Change dot gov and was able to navigate the site. Maybe you just happened to hit it before it was quite ready.

[Mithras]

Oh, I agree that publicly denouncing Prop 8 might have cost him the election. From a cold political standpoint, it makes sense. It was necessary. Doesn't make it right. Just a prelude to instances of when principles fall to practicality.

Hell, that's the kind of move I usually endorse. You can't change a thing if you don't win. I just dislike winning by allowing millions of people to be denied their civil rights.

If you had asked me what he should do on November 1, I don't know how I would have answered. Maybe I am bothered most by the fact that I probably would have been okay with it then.

[PennyDreadful]

He could have afforded it. Let's face it, much of the coin and time that his gay and gay friendly supporters sent was time and money they weren't spending on this issue, and it showed. In return they got a smack in the face from 70% of the minority electorate. Gay voters have to be THE most taken-for-granted voting bloc there is. We're broken hearted in California. Apparently MY family and my rights aren't worth protecting.