Fierce, Advocate!

A picture may be worth a thousand words, but sometimes one suffices: NOPE. At least that's how The Advocate summarizes Obama's progress on promises to gay voters on the cover of their September issue. Harsh, but true, and clever, too; this pink-hued take on the "Hope" poster has our commander-in-chief not looking upward and inspirational, but sideways, like he's avoiding our eye-contact. Guilty much?

The question mark at the end of "Nope" softens the message a bit; at eight months in, Obama's betrayal is not yet a forgone conclusion. And although they call Obama "a player" for making promises he apparently had little intention of implementing as President, the article criticizes the gay community, too. The gay rights movement is described as "impotent", its leaders torn between "wanting equal rights and wanting to get invited to parties at the White House."

Look we've said it before, and we'll keep saying it until the 45th President is sworn in: we support this President, because we believe he has the best interests of all Americans in mind, but we expect some support in return. And enough with the "he's got a lot on his plate" arguments. Even the White House, on the eve of his 200-days-in-office mark, admits some of his challenges are getting a little easier. The battle for healthcare is a biggie, but the President can offer us more than mere tokens in the meantime. Congress is already moving on ENDAand DADT, with repealing DOMA not far behind...it remains to be seen what response or actions the White House will offer, despite Candidate Obama's pledges to implement all of these civil rights initiatives. We'll wait and see.