Obama’s Less than Audacious Ambassadorial Appointment
I don’t normally agree with Dan Savage and thought, when I first read the title of his recent post, A President’s Brave—And Meaningful—Ambassadorial Appointment, he was going to be sing hosannas to the incumbent Democrat for appointing an openly gay ambassador to New Zealand and ignoring his Republican predecessor’s appointment of an openly gay ambassador to Romania. Teaches me not to make assumptions about left-wing bloggers. (Well, at least I waited to read the post before commenting on it. 
)
Instead, Savage praised W for that appointment while singling out the Gipper for the “audacity” of appointing Edward Perkins, a black man, as ambassador to apartheid-era South Africa.
Indeed, calling that New Zealand appointment “a symbolic sop to disgruntled Democratic interest group, Savage wishes “Obama had Reagan’s balls”:
If Obama wants to show the same boldness and guts that Reagan did—if he wants to make a point about American values—he should appoint an openly gay man as ambassador to Russia, where anti-gay violence is tolerated/encouraged by the state. Or Saudia Arabia, where gay men are publicly executed. Or Iraq, where death squads hunt gay men.
I couldn’t agree more.
It does seem that some left-of-center bloggers are anything but lickspittles for the incumbent Democratic Administration. Kudos to them for standing up for their principles and speaking truth to power.
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OK Man!
Lay off Obama!
He’s The MAN!!!
He just won the Nobel Peace Prize!!!!
For….. uh…. keeping the Olympics out of crime ridden Chicago?????
Comment by Sonicfrog — October 9, 2009 @ 10:25 am - October 9, 2009
So he’s going to allow Dubya to appoint the only openly gay ambassador to an anti-gay country like Romania and not do better? Tell me about this “hope and change” again.
Oh wait.
Obama won the NPP. Whoo-hoo! Everything’s soooooo much better now!!!
Comment by John — October 9, 2009 @ 1:32 pm - October 9, 2009
The gay community had learn to savor the appointment of a gay guy as ambassador to New Zealand.
That is the only thing they will get from him, no DADT repeal, no ENDA, no DOMA repeal.
Racist as this sounds, he is a black guy, many of them have issues with gays and others on the “down low”. He is no different.
Comment by TrulyScrumptious — October 9, 2009 @ 9:21 pm - October 9, 2009