Behind the Ad: Obama reaches out to the LGBT community

By Richard K. Barry

Who: The Obama/Biden Campaign.

Where: Nationally.

What's going on: Okay, President Obama took too long to get to the correct side of marriage equality, but he got there. The right is trying to score points with the claim that the move was politically motived. He's the President of the United States of America. He can't breathe without having to worry about the political implications of the act.

It's become one of my best jokes: something someone did in politics was political. Imagine. 

So, yes, it was political. The fact that the right is criticizing him for political motivation means that they think this will play in his favour. Man, that was a long time coming, when granting the LGBT community equal rights would be seen as a winning issue across the country by the opposition.

We all know that, in politics, progress can be maddening slow. We know that political motivation is very complex. For example, the complexities behind the passage of civil rights legislation in the 1960s is well documented, as has been true for equal rights for women over the years. Again, if you want motivation to be pure, look somewhere other than politics. 

It makes me think, though, that when our political leaders take important stands on issues that speak to justice and equality, the most important thing we can do, as citizens, is be grateful. It doesn't happen every day, and we want to encourage this sort of thing. 

It's a very uplifting ad. You may recognize Jane Lynch as the narrator.


(Cross-posted at Lippmann's Ghost.)