Discussion for article #233079
and if not for joe biden, there would have been no progress on this issue.
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I love Joe Biden but I donāt think the progress that weāve seen has much to do with him. Yes, he forced the president to come out and publicly back the right for gays to marry.
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i disagreeā¦ that comment forced obamaās public endorsement; that then set off the momentum of state courtsā decisionsā¦ that, frankly, has shocked me at how quickly this has been ratified.
and iām not a particular fan of biden; but i do think he deserves major props for getting the whole thing rolling. as inadvertent as that may have been.
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Not true.
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I always knew the president was not opposed 4to gay marriage but he wanted to be elected and I am glad he did get elected and then came out in support
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Honestly it was pretty easy to see through this for exactly the reasons Axelrod stated. I donāt think that many anti-gay marriage types were really fooled either. The question was when exactly he was going to drop the facade.
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āIām just not very good at bullshitting,ā
Mr. Obamaās DC establishment āproblemā in a nutshellā¦
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Filed under āNo shit, Sherlock.ā But hey, as long as today is a day for big revelations: Bubba really did inhaleā¦ALOT.
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Itās also why heās not particularly good at debates. The amount of fakery takes a concentration that he just simply hates doing.
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I like Pres. Obama and I am pleased with a good portion of his work on our behalf. But, like Pres. Clinton and his signing of DOMA in the middle of the night (literally) and then trumpeting his āfamily valuesā credentials on Christian radio the very next day, this just leaves a really bitter taste in my mouth. It does make me think less of Mr. Obama as a human being, just as I did (and still do) of Mr. Clinton.
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Iāll never trust him again.
In 2008 Obama knew that, having a chance at making the right thing happen, given time, was more important than saying the ārightā thing. History shows he and Biden judged the situation correctly.
Itās now 2015 and the Republican party still opposes the Civil Rights of an entire segment of the population.
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Who knows but those who criticize his āflip flopsā or his delays on this issue really came off to me as super lame. The guy ā even when saying he was not a supporter of same sex marriage (citing religious reasons that to me came off as fake and/or inconsistent given he didnāt let his moral views on abortion lead the way there) ā long pushed for more rights for gays and same sex couples (such as civil union rights nationwide) than loads of people in the public sphere. And, this is how real life politics works ā you have to in some fashion deal with the wishes and sentiments of the public at large. You donāt just go about being 100% honest about your personal views about everything. You are at least somewhat pragmatic. This also explains why something he said when he was Mr. Nobody should not be thrown around his neck like an albatross once he started to rise in politics.
I know this seems fake or something, but grow up. Like the character in āPrincess Brideā says, we are men of action, lies donāt become of us. We can be honest about reality.
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I donāt believe that Bidenās comment was unintentional or a gaffe, at all. I think it was a calculated and deliberate trial balloon to gauge the larger public mood. Biden is perfect for that role ā if it had blown up in his face, the White House could plausibly say, āthere goes Joe againā and be done with it. Biden is very much a team player, and Iām convinced his comment was part of a larger strategy by the Obama administration to move the ball forward.
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Very true indeed
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Politicians donāt believe half the shit they say. I have no doubt a significant portion of those āopposedā to gay marriage in the Republican party either donāt care or privately support it. Iām sure some Democrats who now support it secretly oppose it. Politicians do and say what they have to to get elected, whether thatās appeasing their voters, manipulating them, or kowtowing to those funding their campaigns.
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Amen to that!!
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Absolutely, and Iāve believed that was the case from the beginning.
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"Opposition to gay marriage was particularly strong in the black church, and as he ran for higher office, he grudgingly accepted the counsel of more pragmatic folks like me
I really donāt think this point can be stressed enough. Homophobia was rampant within the black church, it was so bad that a number of well-respected preachers would often blame āthe down lowā for the ills within the black community. It was ridiculous, particularly considering the choir director in every black church Iāve ever been to is always flamboyantly gay. After the presidentās announcement of his support for gay marriage, a desperately needed conversation finally occurred within the black community and the needle toward acceptance moved quicker than for any other segment of the population. Black folks went from being more homophobic than any other group to be the least homophobic. For that, I absolutely blame Obama.
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