Obama Demonstrates Bold Leadership On Complex Issues

Photo: Chip Somodevilla
Getty Images

This week's Supreme Court decision to uphold the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) marked a major victory in President Obama's courageous fight to revise the broken healthcare system in America.

While the ACA may be both Obama's signature achievement and his achilles heel, there is no denying its boldness.

The President’s attack on the lobbyist-dominated monstrosity that is the American healthcare system showed enormous mettle. Regardless of what one thinks of Obamacare, it should be noted that no other president has been able to muster the know-how, the political muscle, and the intestinal fortitude to successfully pass legislation to overhaul our broken healthcare system.

Obamacare is not the only recent example of the President's willingness to take a stand and lead America forward. 

Two weeks ago, in a statement delivered from the White House Rose Garden, the President declared the United States will no longer pursue deportation of undocumented immigrants who were brought into the country illegally as children.

Conservative pundits questioned the President’s motives in making the election-year policy change, while Republican Congressional leaders had relatively little to say on the issue, partly in deference to Mitt Romney, who continues to take a nuanced non-position on the announced changes.

Why would the President take the politically risky step of allowing some illegal immigrant children to stay in the U.S.?

Best. Marriage. Proposal. Video. Ever.

This is such a fun, sweet, feel good video. Watch until the end and try not to get weepy (but don't be surprised if you do).

Defense of Marriage Act Is Struck Down, Kinda

Photo: Reuters / David McNew

A Boston-based federal appeals court has declared that the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional.

The three-judge panel, two of whom are Republican appointees, supported a lower court ruling that struck down part of DOMA in 2010.

Before my gay friends rush to their local courthouse for marriage licenses (and before my gay-friendly friends order those wedding gifts), you must look a little closer at the court's decision. This ruling doesn't legalize same sex marriage, it simply declares that the 1996 law enacted by Congress (and signed by President Clinton) defining marriage as a union "between one man and one woman" is not consistent with the U.S. Constitution. 

This is good news, for sure, but the rationale behind the ruling is a bit troubling. Here is the most salient segment of the court's decision.

"[M]any Americans believe that marriage is the union of a man and a woman, and most Americans live in states where that is the law today. One virtue of federalism is that it permits diversity of governance based on local choice...this applies as well to the states that have chosen to legalize same-sex marriage."

In essence, the Court of Appeals declared DOMA to be unconstitutional, not on the grounds that it unfairly discriminates against gays and lesbians, but because it violates the Tenth Amendment of the Constitution, which guarantees individual states the right to determine legal questions, when the issues involved are not expressly within the jurisdiction of the federal government. 

In other words, today's ruling is a big step forward, but the logic used to declare DOMA unconstitutional relates to the protection of the basic rights of states in our federal system, not to the fundamental equality of gay and lesbians citizens.

For now, each individual state still gets to decide whether it will allow same-sex couples to marry, which is very likely the same ruling justices on the Supreme Court will make when this issue finally reaches them. In the end, I don't disagree with gay journalist Andrew Sullivan who believes the "federalist" strategy that allows each state to legislate same-sex marriage may ultimately be the best approach.

Jane Lynch Guest Hosting On Maddow Show

What do you call it when two lesbians appear on television to discuss politics? MSNBC. More specifically, The Rachel Maddow Show.

I wouldn't normally share a 10-minute video, but this clip was utterly enjoyable from start to finish. First, Lynch guest anchors the show's "Best New Thing In the World" segment (and does an admirable job), and then Maddow joins the set for a two-woman roundtable conversation about politics.

The discussion includes their reactions to President Obama's same-sex marriage announcement, the value of coming out, and the importance of never underestimating the dorky kids in high school.

The banter is so genuine and personal that it almost feels like you're spying on Maddow and Lynch enjoying a coffee together. All-in-all, a refreshing moment for 24-hour news channel programming.

10 Best Fictional Tweets In Response To Obama's Gay Marriage Endorsement

Since President Obama's declaration of support for same-sex marriage on Tuesday, a wide of array of reactions have flooded the public airwaves.

In general it goes like this:
- Gay folks are grateful for the affirmation.
   (and nervous about the general election)
- Liberals are proud.
   (and nervous about the general election)
- Conservatives are not surprised.
   (and nervous about the general election)


In light of the ample coverage these real reactions have received, I think it's high time we look at what I imagined people might say.

Here are 10 of the most interesting (fictional) Tweets I read (made up) in response to President Obama's endorsement of gay marriage.

1. "I hate to say I told you so. No, I don't." - Rick Santorum
2. "I really don't see what all the fuss is about." - Kim Kardashian
3. "POTUS said what?" - David Axelrod
4. "What's next? Legalized marriage between a man and a dog?" - Snoopy
5. "It's not like you have to marry a guy to have sex with him." - Larry Craig
6. "Nyah, nyah, nyah." - North Carolina
7. "This means all four of my marriages meant nothing." - Rush Limbaugh
8. "That's what I meant when I said I opposed gay marriage." - Mitt Romney
9. "Is anyone going to finish that sandwich?" - Chris Christie
10. "Finally, someone actually did what I would do." - Jesus

Okay, so I made all that up, but not this.

According to Bristol Palin, it would have been nice if President Obama had not been so influenced by the thinking of his wife and daughters and had instead...

"...been an actual leader and helped shape [his daughters'] thoughts instead of merely reflecting what teenagers think after one too many episodes of Glee."

Good to see Bristol dishing out parenting advice to the President. If anyone knows about raising kids properly, it's a 21 year-old single mom whose baby's father just announced that he and his new pregnant girlfriend will name their baby after an Italian handgun. (Oh yeah, that last sentence is true.)

Obama Supports Marriage Equality for Me

Thank you, Mr. President. Not just for supporting my right to marry, but for acknowledging the okay-ness of who I am.

Two Hockey Girls In Love

Hockey fan at Senators-Leafs game

On any given night, you can attend an NHL hockey game and count on a few certainties, like overpriced beer, pale bearded white guys on ice skates, and an occasional fight breaking out.

In any given year, you can venture out on the night of March 17th and find some of your fellow human beings, particularly us Mc-SomethingOrOthers and hordes of our sympathizers, enjoying fairly predictable past times, like green beer, parades with bagpipes (however Scottish that might actually be), and drunken wailing that attempts to pass as traditional Irish folk music.

Here's what no one expected last weekend on St. Patrick's Day at an NHL game between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Ottawa Senators.

The first time I watched this video (Hat Tip to my friend Wes Crisp for sharing it via email) I actually got a little misty-eyed. Seeing people in love is always nice, but c'mon, I see that all the time and it's nothing to get all weepy about. And clever marriage proposals can be sweet, but those don't usually get me either.

I watched the clip a second time, and as I reflected on what moved me about the video, I realized that it was actually the cheer of the crowd that stirred me. I was touched by the way the fans reacted to the idea of two girls in love - with the same moment of roaring adulation they would have shown if the couple had been comprised of a man and a woman. The crowd, like me, simply felt happy, privileged even, to share in that moment of real personal joy with the couple on the ice - and so they cheered.

Thanks to the Ottawa Senators for hosting the proposal, kudos to the NHL for sharing the video on their website, and hurray for Canada - where they aren't afraid to let two people in love get married!

What Didn't Happen When Mitt Met a Gay Vet

Romney and gay veteran Bob Garon

At the Chez Vachon diner in New Hampshire this week, cheese sandwiches weren't the only thing being grilled.

Presidential candidate Mitt Romney got more than he bargained for when he saw two older gentlemen in a booth at the restaurant, and then invited himself to sit down for a quick campaign chat. The man Romney slid next to in the booth, Bob Garon, was dressed in a red flannel shirt and a Vietnam vet baseball cap. The fellow seated across from them was Bob Lemire, who we can only imagine to Mitt's surprise, was Bob Garon's legal husband.

Garon, who did in fact serve in Vietnam in the 1960s, wedded Lemire in New Hampshire where gay marriage is legal. When Mitt Romney sat down at his four-top booth, Garon took full advantage of finally having a "seat at the table," posing several questions to Romney about his stance on gay marriage and a gay spouse's eligibility for veteran's benefits.

You've probably read about this encounter already, but if you're interested, you can find the full text of their conversation here, or watch a video clip of their interaction here.

Romney deserves some credit for how he managed himself in this situation once he realized where the conversation was headed. He didn't quickly slink away to the next table as Michele Bachmann might have done (for fear of gay cooties, no doubt), he didn't cut Garon off in mid-sentence as Newt Gingrich might have done, and he didn't duck Bob Garon's very pointed questions about gay marriage. In fact, Romney gave concise and straightforward answers, even though they weren't the answers he knew Garon wanted to hear. Of course, knowing his response was completely in line with what his Republican base would want to hear probably made being "direct" a little easier for Romney. Still, I give him credit for not pacifying "the Bobs" on the spot.