Richard Socarides - Sooner Obama changes his answer the better off he will be...

[WillParkinson]

HomoQuotable - Richard Socarides

"Can President Obama, who once supported gay marriage, only to oppose it now, change his position again? The answer is yes — and he in fact has no choice. People understand that most public officials who now support gay marriage once opposed it. It wasn’t until after they left office that Bill Clinton and Al Gore (and, most recently, Laura Bush) said that they favored marriage equality. As Nate Silver recently wrote on his blog FiveThirtyEight.com: “Does anyone really believe, in a country that is becoming close to evenly divided on gay marriage, that Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Kerry are among the half who oppose it? “

"The sooner Obama changes his answer on this most important equal-rights issue of the day, the better off he will be. The Perry ruling provides the right opportunity to shift his emphasis and provide real leadership, reminding people that in this country, we look to the courts for direction on what our Constitution requires. It might also help the president’s popularity with those that elected him, and it puts him and his party on the right side of the equality question, where he, of course, belongs and presumably wants to be." - Former Clinton White House adviser Richard Socarides, writing for Politico.

http://joemygod.blogspot.com/2010/08/homoquotable-richard-socarides.html

[GodlessBiker]

1. It's weird to me that Bill supports but Hillary opposes marriage equality.

[joeybee12]

2. My cynical take? Bill is never gonna run for anything again...Hilary might...n/t

[FBaggins]

5. Cynical perhaps... but accurate.

It would be wonderful if politicians would tell us what they really believe... but then they wouldn't BE politicians, now would they?

These cases move us in the right direction, but we still live in a country that is largely unsympathetic to gay marriage. Political animals only know one way to react to that (regardless of their personal beliefs). Those in solid blue districts will feel free to support GM... while the rest will continue to make noise that they HOPE sounds supportive to both sides (while most often ticking both sides off).

[HereSince1628]

3. Not to me. Bill isn't planning on trying to get elected to some office

and Hillary seems to still hold open the door to the possibility.

[GodlessBiker]

7. All these national politicians are so freakin' calculating. It's disgusting.

Never again will I vote for someone who opposes marriage equality.

[HereSince1628]

8. Thery aren't referred to as career politicians by accident.

Positioning yourself and your 'record' for them is just like career climbing in the rest of the world.

Make the right friends and avoid pissing off the wrong people.

[DURHAM D]

4. Given that Hillary will never again run for office -

as soon as she is asked the question you will find that she supports gay marriage.

[FBaggins]

6. You may have come to the conclusion that she'll never run again...

...but I seriously doubt that she has.

[DURHAM D]

9. Oh please -

she is more than ready to crank up her foundation to work on issues important to women and girls. And that includes GLBT issues.

She has already indicated that she will not be SOS for a second Obama term. Frankly, I think she will be asked to leave government service a few months early so she can campaign for Dem candidates and Obama's reelection because she is the most popular Democrat by far. She will be needed in 2011 to hold seats.

[FBaggins]

10. If she's still "the most popular democrat by far" in a year

(and she may well be) - then she may have other plans for 2012 that would require her to give up a second SOS term.

[DURHAM D]

11. Like what? nt

[FBaggins]

12. POTUS of course. n/t

[DURHAM D]

13. Too late and too old. nt

[FBaggins]

14. "too old" is preferable to "dead in the water"

If the president's numbers continue to slide... if the economy doesn't improve (let alone if it gets worse)... if November is worse than we hope it will be... there will be a significant cry within the party for an alternative. She is the obvious choice (not the least for being the "most popular democrat" and being the senior government officer who doesn't seem to make big mistakes). "Too old" wouldn't enter in to it.

I'm not predicting it. I think that November looks terrible, but that the economy and the president's approval numbers will both improve significantly over the next 12-18 months.

[DURHAM D]

15. There is absolutely zero chance Hillary will primary Obama. nt

[FBaggins]

16. Because she just likes the guy, right?

Or just isn't an ambitious person?

If the opportunity presents itself she most certainly will. A year ago I would have rated that chance at close to zero. It's still pretty slim, but another year like the last two and it absolutely could happen.

[DURHAM D]

17. Hoping and wishing on your part won't change who she is. nt

[FBaggins]

18. Who she is? What's that supposed to mean?

This is a lady who ran for and won a senate seat in NY even though she was from Arkansas. That's not political ambition? She ran for president just two years ago... that doesn't wear off that quickly (look at the the republicans who seem to think they have a shot) and is very much a part of "who she is"

That's neither anti-Clinton nor anti-Obama... it's just a recognition of reality in party politics. If we get clobbered in Nov and things continue to get worse into the new year, you will start to see Hillary vs Obama polling. If it looks like Kennedy's did in early 1979, she will "hear the call of her party" and allow herself to be "dragged" into the race.

[DURHAM D]

19. wrong

[FBaggins]

20. Thanks for that reasoned response.

:rofl:

"don't confuse me with the facts... I've already made up my mind"

Why didn't you just lead with that?

[DURHAM D]

21. See response #9 and #13 above.

The only unreasonable person here is you.

:shrug:

[FBaggins]

22. Ahh... right.

9 & 13. That was "she's too old" (because of course women are not politically viable as long as men are) and she would rather run her foundation than be president of the US.

Makes perfect sense. Right up there with "wrong!" :-)

Have a nice evening. I'm off to a minor league rain out.