15 Minutes of Fame

The gay channel LOGO and the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) are feeling good about themselves for having put together the first ever presidential forum on Thursday night. The panel consisted of Margaret Carlson, editor at Bloomberg.com; Joe Solmonese, president of HRC; Melissa Etheridge, singer; and Jonathan Capehart of the Washington Post. The six Democratic presidential candidates were Barak Obama, John Edwards, Bill Richardson, Mike Gravel, Dennis Kucinich and Hillary Clinton. The two candidates that did not participate was Senator Joe Biden of Delaware and Senator Chris Dodd of Connecticut. Carlson, with a stupid smile on her face, declared at some point during the forum that Republicans were invited but none accepted at which time members of the audience hissed to show their disapproval. More on that later.

I decided to watch this event for no other reason than to hear what the candidates had to say about some of the many issues relevant to gay and lesbian Americans: gay marriage, Don't Ask, Don't Tell and the defense of marriage act (DOMA). I went in with no expectations and came away with none. I thought the whole thing quite boring until Richardson said being gay was a choice. Now that made headlines which prompted a new statement by Richardson. Here are my thoughts on each candidate and how they handled themselves.

Barak Obama - as usual Mr. Obama handled himself very well. On marriage he said, "the government has to treat all citizens equally." He also said that he "doesn't talk about [gay] issues where it's convenient but talks about it when its hard." My overall impression of Obama is that he is sincere especially when he expressed annoyance as to why he was there. He asked the panel to look at his track record on LGBT issues and they will not come away wanting. I thought he handled himself professionally and came away with a couple of new recruits.

John Edwards - one of his memorable comments was when he said, "In America it cannot be okay to have homeless gay people." He also apologized for opposing gay marriage based on his religion but he still opposes gay marriage. Edwards went on to say, "I don't believe that a president should impose his faith on people and I will not." While I agree with Edwards on the latter I think he should have kept his initial statement of why he did not back gay marriage. I think that when we start telling or demanding that people back away from their rationale, regardless of whether or not we oppose it is when we run into problems and get candidates who say what "they think we want to hear." And this is a perfect example of why it didn't work for gays because Edwards still opposes gay marriage. I have to say that Edwards impressed me during this forum.

Dennis Kucinich - supports everything and was asked if there is "anything" he doesn't support and came up with a no response. I think Kucinich is a very, very nice guy. He almost reminds me of Mr. Rogers. He is like someones grandfather. I think what would be best for gay Americans is for Representative Kucinich to stay in the House and try to do some good work there because he's not going to get the nomination.

Mike Gravel - supports same-sex marriage. Mr. Gravel thanked Solmonese for reversing himself and letting him into the forum. Gravel set a time limit on the issue of same-sex marriage by stating, "In five years same-sex marriage will not be an issue." I thought this guy was a wacko. I couldn't understand half of what he was saying and he came across as an idiot.

Bill Richardson - in response to same-sex marriage Richardson stated that, "Same-sex marriage is achievable but not right now and that gays need to fight for civil unions." He regrets his vote on DOMA and says it should be repealed. Richardson did not seem comfortable to me. He seemed as though his suit was too tight which made him look uptight. But I do agree with him on his assessment of gay marriage. Unfortunately his comment about gay being a choice lost him any accolades he may have had in the beginning of his fifteen minutes.

Hillary Clinton - thinks Don't Ask, Don't Tell should be repealed. Clinton stated, "We will lay the groundwork and when I'm president we'll get the job done." She is more positive about civil unions; repeal section 3 of DOMA. Clinton did well but trying to hide her husbands failings was almost laughable. Her response to Etheridge was well planned and saved her from being inundated with harsher questions.

The forum probably gave left wing gays what they wanted. All the love in the room made everyone laugh and smile and love the Democrats. Of course there were no Republicans in the room which was unfortunate but here is my rationale for their absence. The Human Rights Campaign claims to be non-partisan but they are not. They have never endorsed a Republican even when the Republican came out as strong as the Democratic candidate on gay issues. They are not friendly to Republicans so why should a Republican come before them just to be beaten up? It is said that Solmonese is more welcoming to Republicans so I'm waiting.

A word about the panelists. I'm not sure where they got Margaret Carlson but they should never invite her back. She was silly, condescending and at times down right rude. She seemed to be mocking Kucinich when he was talking and her bit about loving Hillary's jacket was sophomoric at best. And my friend Melissa. I'm not sure why she was there either because she was an embarrassment. She could not get out a complete sentence without stumbling over her words and acting like a school girl with a crush. Yet another reason why "Rockers" should stay in the audience and not participate on a panel. My favorite was Jonathan Capehart who was articulate and sensible in his questioning. And of course Solmonese was good because he does that kind of thing for a living. The format of 15 minutes was good; the seating for panelists and guests worked; some of the questions were good; the wrap up from each candidate worked. Not bad on the first try. Just don't invite Etheridge nor Carlson back.