As have many other publications, Newsweek has a review of the first year of the Obama presidency. Never mind that he took the oath of office in January. He actively started shaping his staff and his policies the day after last year's election and influencing events not long after. So, let me add my voice to the chorus.
The verdict, according to Anna Quindlen: "Yes We Can" sells a whole lot better than "Yes We Can, but it's going to take a while." Progressives (and gays) are wondering what's taking so long. Quindlen points out, for example, that the military ban on gays could have been a done deal by now. Why hasn't it?
Perhaps because of his race and his age, much of the electorate, especially those of us who are liberals, succumbed to stereotype and assumed that he was by way of being a firebrand.
And perhaps because -- oh, I don't know -- he said he was a "fierce advocate" of gay rights?
A year in, and we know that we deceived ourselves. He is methodical, thoughtful, cerebral, a believer in consensus and process. In an incremental system, Barack Obama is an incremental man.
Quindlen goes on to explain how incremental Washington is. The Founding Fathers intended it that way. Even the bold strokes from Lyndon Johnson -- the Voting Rights Act, for instance -- were actually small steps built on previous efforts.
There are two things that could help satisfy our hunger for the bold stroke. One comes from Obama -- he could follow LBJ's lead and promise Congress they are making history. The other comes from us. LBJ accomplished much of what he did because he had so much of the country actively engaged in telling Congress what they wanted.
As I've reported many times (including above) gays are frustrated with change that Obama has appeared to promise, seems able to accomplish, yet hasn't. The first case is mentioned above, the gay military ban. But here are a couple more.
Tim Coco and Junior Oliveira were married in Massachusetts. Oliveira is a citizen of Brazil and is seeking asylum in the USA because he had been abused and raped while in Brazil. His asylum request was denied in 2007 and he was sent back to Brazil. The couple appealed to John Kerry, who became their advocate. Yet, the Obama administration, including Attorney General Holder, has not acted. And they could because the asylum application is not based on the gay marriage, even though no asylum application would be needed if the couple wasn't gay.
The prez has stated he is for the gay side of the initiatives in Maine and Washington, though hasn't said so where it counts. For example, AG Holder gave a speech at the University of Maine and afterward was asked about the Maine gay marriage battle. Instead of a ringing endorsement of gays, Holder didn't take a stand.
However, there is one big step and some baby steps that Congress and the Obama administration has taken for us.
Gays (and even transgendered people) are now protected in the national hate crimes act! Annoying that many in the GOP feel there aren't enough hate crimes perpetrated against gays to make their inclusion in the hate crimes laws necessary. Alas, according to the Triangle Foundation here in Michigan the crime has to be severe enough to get the Feds involved before it is classified as a hate crime.
A witness to the signing ceremony tells her story.
Between The Lines reports on several other actions that would have never been done under Bush. These include:
Grants (of only a quarter million) will be given out to create resource centers for gay seniors. That little money to reach perhaps 4 million gay seniors? Then again, Fundies proclaim gay seniors don't exist because the gay rights era isn't that old and gays don't live that long.
HUD is proposing new regulations so that subsidized housing will be available without regard to the sexual orientation or gender identity of the applicants.
The Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act has passed, but has not yet been funded.
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