I seem to be in the minority of Americans when writing
that I have yet to muster much excitement over President Obama's announcement
Wednesday that his thoughts had finally evolved into an unprecedented,
full-fledged presidential endorsement of same-sex marriage.
I have seen numerous clips from the ABC interview with
Robin Roberts and, as best I could tell, the President seemed sincere when
describing both the process he used to arrive at the decision as well as his
fulsome support.
But when compared to the gushing hyperbole of the
infotainment talking-head celebrities that followed the statement, my personal
reaction was clearly left wanting. Blitzer, Matthews, Sawyer and Williams fell
all over themselves exalting the President's courage in making "The Decision" amid metaphoric shouts of
"Hallelujah!"
My empty reaction left me wondering, despite my great
love of politics, if I had simply become too cynical or jaded when it comes to
politicians. Regardless, there remains a
nagging sense that the events of this past week may have been more about
politics than presidential evolution.
The week that began with an apparent gaffe by the Vice
President admitting he was "absolutely supportive" of same-sex
marriage eventually ended up making the White House look as if it was
scrambling for a unified message; before Mr. Biden's interview was complete,
the White House machinery was fast at work backing away from his remarks only
to be followed in short order by yet another oddly-timed statement by Secretary
of Education Duncan publicly pledging his support.
Before Wednesday's landmark interview, the White House
had settled on the position that President Obama's opinion was in flux ~ that
it was "evolving." But, in light of what would surely be seen as a
defeat for the White House if the looming North Carolina Constitutional
Amendment ballot initiative banning both same-sex marriages AND civil-unions
were to be passed on Tuesday, it also seemed reasonable to posit that the collective
"gaffes" and subsequent machinations might very well have resulted
more from political orchestration than mere coincidence might have allowed.
Mr/Senator/President Obama's official paper trail on the
subject of same-sex marriage is rife with well-documented changes-of-heart:
1996 ~ while
running for a State Senate seat in a liberal suburb of Chicago, Mr. Obama
filled out a questionnaire stating, "I favor same-sex marriages, and would
fight efforts to prohibit such marriages."
1998 ~ when asked
about the subject again during his second run for the seat, Senator Obama
backtracked a bit when he replied, "he'd have to look into it."
2004 ~ just as state Senator Obama was hoping to make the
leap to national prominence with a run for the United States Senate, the
candidate essentially re-affirmed his opposition to gay marriages by abandoning
the word "marriage" while "embrac(ing) civil unions and full
rights for gays and lesbians."
2010 ~ President Obama lobbied successfully for the
repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." To be certain, no one in official
Washington believes absent successfully striking down DADT that the President
would have ever come to support same-sex marriage; it was "a meaningful
building block to get to a meaningful discussion about marriage."
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I just had an "Ah-Ha!" moment; something has finally registered with me.
It's amazing what writing does for my mind; throwing down
words sometimes allows me to eventually ferret out my true feelings and
untangle lingering confusion; the little "light bulb" above my head has now
stopped flickering.
I DO believe the earnestness of Mr. Obama, the man's,
statement on the matter of same-sex marriage.
I also can't help but feel that he, the Senator and the
President truly felt this way all along.
It leads me to suspect that once the mantle of high
office is achieved, political expediency as well as a primal drive for survival
takes hold of all politicians.
Democrats, Republicans and Independents surely understand that politics
is not a game for the timid; it seems to demand a small Faustian-like bargain
of at least a part of one's true self in order to continue "playing the
game" successfully ~ a story not unfamiliar to the lives of many Americans.
I could personally not care less if Mr/Senator/President
Obama or Mr/Governor Romney have waffled over time; authentic growth and change
is an essential component of our lives.
But it can also not be denied that a legacy of political
"waffling" lends itself to more confusion and division among the
electorate especially when subjectively reported by the media.
Sadly, I honestly don't believe Jimmy Stewart's "Mr.
Smith" would survive in the Washington of today; perhaps it was never
realistic. But for whatever it's worth, I do wish we had a system in place that
would allow decent men and women who serve as our representatives to merely
speak the truth as they see fit without fear of the constraints of political
maneuvering, party arm-twisting or blatant obfuscation.
This is not about a solitary political wedge issue for me; naive or not, all of us should demand nothing less from
our representatives.
I am satisfied that Mr. Obama, the man, finally
had the strength of conviction to speak his truth this past Wednesday … and, for once, a
President agreed.
I believe that alone warrants a little smile!