His administration is turning into Bill Clinton’s third term. He is backing away from gay and lesbian causes so fast that it’s almost a free fall. And yet, his backers still back him.

Now when he nominates some center/right to right Judges to the bench, what is the excuse going to be?

Justice delayed is justice denied. Patience in the face of injustice is just as evil as the injustice itself.

We’re going through a troop shortage, we need linguists(like myself, I speak French, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Afrikaans, Italian, Hebrew, Arabic and Czech). Yet despite promises, Obama doesn’t intend to do a damn thing about the ban on gays in the military until after he has 90% of Americans and congress behind him. This is a f*cking cop out.

In this economy, where people are losing their homes, life savings and the government(including Obama) is bailing out the very parasitic banks that put us in the situation. Obama acts like he’s a New Dealer yet he’s not even doing a fraction of what Roosevelt did. He is following Clintonista policies of a kinder gentler a*s f*ck of the American worker and consumer. AND, when the economy falters, it’s often gay and lesbian people who get fired first, but we should wait wait wait wait wait and wait some more before congress passes ENDA, so we can feel slightly more secure in our jobs.

Gay and lesbian people have been fighting for more than a decade for marriage equality. Yet despite overwhelming opposition, and many set backs, we continue to forge ahead. While we had a legitimate enemy in the White House, we won the right to marry in Massachusetts, Connecticut and in California(albeit for only a short period). Here comes Obama, who wants to be all things to all people, yet every time he is asked his position on marriage equality he makes it VERY clear that he OPPOSES marriage equality and that he believes marriage is between one man and one woman. In California, where we had the GOP Governor, several GOP mayors and most educated people on our side. Despite all this, it was Obama’s voice saying “I believe marriage is between one man and one woman” that was being sent to a million black voters. Obama’s voice and his opposition to marriage equality was used to get ignorant black voters to vote for Prop 8. Obama knew he needed gay voters to win California, so he played both sides, but don’t be fooled, Obama is as tribal and crooked as any old boy network. If he had to choose between his (black) people and gays and lesbians, he’d choose black people any day.

Also, Barack Hussein Obama is a member of the United Church of Christ. This church openly supports marriage equality both as a sacrament within the church and as a civil contract in society. Yet despite his OWN church’s support for marriage equality, Obama often uses his religion as justification for opposing marriage equality. Why is that? If his own church supports marriage equality, then his religion is NOT opposed to it, unless he really isn’t UCC. Whether Obama is a Muslim or not isn’t the point, but he presented himself as something different, someone who would bring change, someone who would make things happen. But just like the facade provided by the UCC, Obama carried the banner of progressivism, making most white progressives and liberals believe he was the long awaited liberal messiah. Obama hasn’t even gotten into office, yet even now, during his honey moon period, where the media literally worships him, the people who put him into power are now having cold feet. Too late!!! White progressives wanted to proove to themselves that they really weren’t racist, so they lowered their standards. Gay voters, who have been so abused, so lied to, so stabbed in the back too often, were misled by the self appointed gay “leadership” into voting for a candidate who opposes our rights. So many people actually believed Obama supported “gay marriage” and that was why they voted for him. They were convinced that Obama secretly supported marriage equality and would implement it the first day in office. Those that didn’t believe this trusted the HRC, the Stonewall Dems and the NGLTF to not endorse a candidate who didn’t support marriage equality. Gay and lesbian voters, like myself, who didn’t support Obama, were lambasted, insulted and even slandered as racists by Obama supporters.

So as far as I am concerned, Obama is a complete failure, especially when it comes to gay issues and real progress. He isn’t even in office, yet his well documented opposition to our rights was instrumental in erasing more than 1,100 rights in California.

On election night, I suspended my cynicism for one brief moment, I listened to his acceptance speech and actually had tears in my eyes. It felt surreal, almost like political emotion porn not too different from watching the West Wing dreaming of a real president. I wanted to believe, it felt like an emotional altar call, when a new convert would come up to the altar and profess his new faith. “Yes we can, yes we can” rang out again and again, like a revival of all those things we Americans should believe in. I so wanted to give into that call, I wanted to suspend my skepticism and believe, embrace all this hope and change. I watched Jesse Jackson, John Lewis and others cry tears of joy and I felt their joy and suffering. I tried to put my issues aside for one night, believing that I am so small and America is so great. Yet despite all this, all this emotion, I couldn’t embrace this new faith of irrational optimism and blind belief in Obama. As the election results came in, we witnessed a political landslide for the Democrats. Yet California, Prop 8…….. Obama instrumental in its passage. It seemed so hard to believe, yet even in California the forces of evil had no problem convincing enough people that we weren’t worthy of the most basic human right. I couldn’t share in the victory celebrations of Obama, while gay and lesbian people in a state I have never been to, just had their inalienable fundamental rights ripped away from them. Yet for weeks now, Obama has NOT condemned the passage of Prop 8, he has not called for its repeal.

Let me make it clear, I would gladly sacrifice my life if only I could be wrong about Obama. But I have little to no doubt that Obama will be NOTHING but just a slightly less hateful enemy to our community. He will play politics with our lives, and we’ll have millions of gay “leaders” convince us that it’s progress. Over the next 4 years, even more countries, other than our own, will join the club of those giving us marriage equality. He might sign an ENDA, but it will be so watered down, that discrimination against us, especially in red states is rarely if ever sanctioned. But despite all this, despite my own cynicism, I would gladly give up all that I have to be wrong. If Barack Obama was even half the leader he and others have made him out to be, I would stand in front of a bullet for him, if he would champion our cause. I want to be wrong, I want to be proven wrong, but since election day I have only seen mounting proof that Obama is not the change that was promised.

The bottom line is that Obama is not the President of the Left, he’s the President of The United States. He is not pursuing a Progressive agenda (nor did he ever claim he was), he’s pursuing an American agenda.

Many of you who have posted here just amaze me. You claim he’s no “change”. Where have you been for the last eight years? If you can’t already see a change even while the administrations are in transition, then you’ve been blinded by your own arrogance.

AAK

So far, it appears that moderates and the right wing are getting seats. Where are the voices of the left though? Who is the voice of the left in Obama’s policy team? Who in his economic team?

I get the feeling that we will get some voices at the table. Secretary of Bucket-carriers and Secretary of Mops and Brooms. Thanks for the change Obama.

He has gathered a stunning array of people to help him make intelligent decisions.

I was hopeful when I voted for him and I continue to be hopeful… and encouraged by what I am seeing thus far.

As a country, I think we are in for change and I will do my best to remain positive.