Obama and Gay Rights-Part I

President Obama finally broke his silence on gay rights by issuing a proclamation on June 1st, commemorating the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. Then he repeated his "gays and lesbians have a friend in the white house" mantra, albeit in a halting manner, during his interview with Brian Williams.

But so far President Obama's overtures have done little to quiet the LGBT community's dissatisfaction with him, which has grown from private grumbles to loud criticisms. From blogs to mainstream media such as CNN, everyone is questioning President Obama's past assertion that he's a "fierce advocate" of gay rights, given his inaction so far on his campaign promises, despite the swift adoption of gay marriages in five states since his inauguration.

Much has been written on this topic. Both Andrew Sullivan and Dan Savage have articulated the source of the LGBT Community's frustration with the Obama Administration, better than I'd ever be able to. So the question is, are we too impatient and asking too much of a President who is dealing with daunting tasks such as a struggling economy, a reform-or-die healthcare system and not to mention a hot potato, Comprehensive Immigration Reform?

My answer is no. Because President Obama himself famously said that a president should be able to multitask, and so far he has done exactly that, taking on many thorny issues at the same time. He passed a gigantic economic stimulus bill. He's rescued the banking industry. He's rescuing the auto industry. He signed an executive order allowing the use of federal money for stem cell research. He's withdrawing troops from Iraq and redeploying them to Afghanistan. He's about to give a big speech in Cairo on US relationship with the Muslim World. He's taking a hard line with Israel to force them to accept a two-state solution. He's working on healthcare reform. He's working on immigration reform. He's doing everything for everybody, sans the LGBT community.

His ambitious agenda is a clear indication that President Obama will NOT be happy just being the first black President, he intends to enter the history books as one of America's greatest presidents, not just because of the color of his skin.

And I'm pretty sure he has an agenda for gay rights too, unlike his predecessors. I also believe that he did his calculations and decided the LGBT community can be placated for now with just rhetorics. After all, he has given them big words and promises, for a community that's used to insults, that should be good enough for a while.

But President Obama, as smart and wise as you are, you can't be more wrong this time.