Yes, he did

I've been thinking a lot about world news lately. Often someone comes along our forums and asks if we have done enough about the tragedies that have happened to homosexuals. I think so for everyone here. I certainly work to promote tolerance and support for those in need, and that includes people who have same-sex attraction. Though, admittedly, it is hard to say if my efforts can meet the high goal post set by someone on their 10 foot horse, or hit the target of someone who feels their plight is the center of the universe.

For any given week there is a news report of mass slaughter or starvation which also carries my concern. The world is a big place, and there is a lot of suffering. If marriage, the support a family can give one another, weren't so critical in solving all of these problems I'd have no time for Opine Editorials at all.

I've often lamented how such grave news was often unheard of by those issuing such a challenge here at Opine. Yet recently news has taken a flip, with foreign news in the headlines and domestic news being buried. With "unrest" (meaning the people are fed up with their government) in the Middle East, many other news has gone silent. But a lot of foreign news can hardly be heard as well. I've not heard much from China, Afghanistan, Iraq, Russia lately -- especially with the spotlight having moved from their countries. From even further in the not-so-distant past the only news I see from Kosovo and the Balitcs are travel logs of vacationers. I've not heard much of anything from near bankrupt states across the USA, except perhaps from Wisconsin.



But DOMA, that relic from the era of the US involvement in Kosovo, is in the news again. For good or bad, DOMA is being abandoned by the office of the President of the USA, as reported by many sources as well as our own Playful Walrus. The news immediately drew to mind some of the most interesting -- albeit non-news -- articles we've written in the past. The parallels between Obama and Jerry Brown who refused to defend Prop 8 were recently highlighted by Op-Ed in our comment section. At the top of my mind has been the memory of Op-Ed's take on Jerry Brown upon hearing the news when he decided to abandon Prop 8.

I have a few thoughts on this development that I'd like to share. Many commentators are scratching their heads to figure out why Obama has done this. As noted in our "Yes we can" label of stories, Obama has previously driven the line that he is not a bigot, and he supports the legal expectation of equal gender representation in marriage. Unless we are to abandon ourselves to the churlishness of accusation, we support that he was honest about both. They both co-exist in my universe of tolerance, love, and human concern -- it isn't hard to believe that is true for Obama also. Although to be fair Obama campaigned on the platform of repealing DOMA.

Having heard the arguments from both sides, no doubt he had a confident platform from which to stand. No new arguments have come out to explain the shift, and he never did defend his position with much intellectual rigor anyway. So for the sake of intellectual consistency, he didn't have to do it now any more then on the campaign trail. So then why did he now? Even if we were to abandon hope entirely and accuse Obama of subverting DOMA with a sabotaged defense, it was working so why give up that useful position he worked so hard for?

Yet for all my desire to give the guy the benefit of the doubt, there was a tried and true defense of DOMA that implied no ill will towards homosexuality that Obama refused relating to the importance of encouraging social responsibility in how babies are created primarily in the two people who combine to create the child. A cause that he continues to support in word and deed with his wife (as noted by Renee earlier). And now, shifting his position on marriage's expectation of equal gender participation only leaves me with no frame of reference to accept the events except those of  political, and not intellectual, expediency. Onward into the churlish darkness, I suppose.

As the German tank columns in Russia went from dominant blitzkrieg to fleeing for their lives, the tank commanders found it more economical to lose a few tanks in minor delaying actions than lose many tanks in large confrontations. Delaying-action were when smaller sacrificial defense lines were used to delay the advance of the Russians while more aggressive defenses were assembled. This is much like a lizard who loses its tail in order to save the body from a predator, or even a burglar trying to distract a guard dog with a slab of steak.

This could be (as a few pundits have suggested) the strategy that Obama is employing. His health care plan, as well as many other spending plans, are threatened by the advancing onslaught in congress set up by the past election as well as a few judicial decisions. The legislators he supports in Wisconsin are on the run from police to avoid meeting over legislation about re-negotiating pensions for public labor unions. What was once the perfect opportunity for sabotage is now a more valuable distraction for the conservatives. It may even disrupt the integrity of the advancing front as conservatives once again grapple with the fault lines between social and economic issues.

However, its probably nothing to those already engaged in re-working the economy to unleash zealots waiting on the sidelines to defend DOMA, while continuing to pursue more economic agendas. NOM, ADF, and many others have been chomping at the bit to take a run at defending DOMA, for no cost in resources or money. If that is correct, then I expect that the outcome of this will not be delay, but to actually position himself to be more vulnerable to both sides. Instead of distracting the masses protesting his policies, he's energized more people to join the demonstrations.

I've noted that the last great day of Republican dominance in congress before their decline in the 2006 elections was their debate on the Federal Marriage Amendment. Is this is the last day of Obama's dominance in US politics? From the beginning of his term as President, we've seen the dictators that Obama has supported lose their positions in Haiti and Egypt. Democrats, a party he belongs to and supports, lost control of governorships and state and federal congresses in the last election. And no where may that be more felt than in the state governorships and legislatures like Wisconsin. Perhaps it is better to be officially unsupported, rather than officially supported by Obama?

Marriage supporters are not alone in lost hope of help from this president. At least those officially under the bus can rally their own cause. Those still on the bus are mired in uncertainty of the direction of the bus, or if they will or will not be the next to be thrown under the bus.

Perhaps this is yet another domino to fall in a chain reaction, a pattern seen during the presidential campaign that is becoming more easily recognizable as time goes on. But the fact he needs the delay in the first place is bigger news than that another one is under the bus. And his poor choice of sacrifice for the cause, leads me to believe this is a real milestone in his presidency.