But why the hell not, Mr. Fierce Advocate?
Andrew Sullivan:
"It's worth examining the precise wording he used in front of military leaders this afternoon [when signing the hate crimes act/defense appropriation bill into law]:
After more than a decade of opposition and delay, we've passed inclusive hate crimes legislation to help protect our citizens from violence based on what they look like, who they love, how they pray, or who they are."This simply doesn't make sense. Hate crime laws for most categories, including federal measures, have been around for a long time. The only new thing here - the only thing that has fostered "a decade of opposition and delay" - is the addition of sexual orientation. So the president had a chance to defend gays from being excluded from the usual roster of victims, in front of military leaders, and he had to walk backwards into this strange circumlocution.
"Obama's is the support that dare not speak our name."
What I Say: There's something wrong with this picture, boys. I admire Obama for a number of reasons, and he is infinitely better as President than the last guy - who, be it remembered, routinely torpedoed any hopes for this bill when it came up in Congress before; but Obama is simply not living up to all his promises made to us. Very deliberately not, it would seem. And that's very, very troubling.
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