R.I.P. Obamamania

May 14, 6:25 PMInternational LGBT Issues ExaminerKelvin Lynch

Previous Next

2 comments Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the International LGBT Issues Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

What goes up, must come down.

Remember when it seemed everyone (myself included) was swept up in Obamamania?  The iconic Shepard Fairey poster and t-shirts were everywhere, and people were "Obamacizing" their Facebook profile pictures.  Oprah was crying on some stranger's shoulder.  Obama wasn't merely the candidate who was "anything but Bush", he was the man who would bring hope back to the country, who would help us to help ourselves create change, who would bring real leadership and transparency to the White House.

It all culminated on Inauguration Day 2009, when a million people swarmed the national mall to see the first African-American person in history sworn in as president, and millions more watched on television. It was a watershed moment when Obama made his first speech as President of the United States.  It sent a strong message when he made it a point for the world to see him personally escort Bush and Cheney out of Washington, D.C., ending the most disastrous era in recent American history. 

During his first 100 days, the president seemed to have a stronghold over Congress.  He got a nearly $1 trillion economic stimulus package passed, and more money for troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. After 10 years of political wrangling, The Matthew Shephard Hate Crimes Act was finally passed by Congress to include gender, gender expression, and sexual orientation.  Many credited Mr. Obama for this achievement.  Among his supporters, Obama was still seen as the leader who could do no wrong.

However, now that the honeymoon of his first 100 days are over, it seems Dr. Jeckyll has morphed into Mr. Hyde, particularly in the eyes of the LGBT community who helped elect him. Over the past couples of weeks alone, Mr. Obama has broken two major campaign promises to LGBT citizens.  He abandoned his plan to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), and chose not to use his executive power to intervene on Don't Ask, Don't Tell (DADT).  The president says he continues to support repeal of the two laws, but he wants to wait for Congress to take action, which could be "down the road" or never, and renders his previous positions on these issues as nothing more than lip service.  What has suddenly happened to his Congressional stronghold?

Mr. Obama has remained conspicuously silent on the legalization of gay marriage in the states.  Since he took office, four states - Iowa, Vermont, Maine, and New Hampshire - have joined Massachusetts and Connecticut in recognizing marriage equality.  Many LGBT activists have viewed his silence as disdain.  Mr. Obama has always made it clear he doesn't approve of gay marriage, but does think LGBT people should be allowed to enter into civil unions, with federal benefits to match. However, even in light of the growing marriage equality movement in the states, Mr. Obama hasn't indicated when he intends to make that happen.

The president is now being taken to task for breaking his promise to release torture photos from Guantanamo Bay, which have been quashed by the Bush aministration for years.  As recently as yesterday, the president was promising to release the photos, but at the last minute, the White House announced the photos would not be published "to prevent Muslim insurgency and protect national security."  The timing coincided with Mr. Obama's planned trip to Egypt, where his life could potentially be put in danger if the photos were released.  However, the American Civil Liberties Union, which has been fighting a lawsuit under the Freedom of Information Act to get the photos released, wasn't buying it. 

ACLU president Anthony Romero said:

The Obama administration's adoption of the stonewalling tactics and opaque policies of the Bush administration flies in the face of the president's stated desire to restore the rule of law, to revive our moral standing in the world and to lead a transparent government. This decision is particularly disturbing given the Justice Department's failure to initiate a criminal investigation of torture crimes under the Bush administration.

Romero was referring to Mr. Obama's statement that he "wants to move forward, rather than look back" regarding alleged torture crimes during the Bush years.  In that spirit, the president chose not to push for a Justice Department investigation of the Bush administration's possible war crimes.  Romero told CNN that the ACLU planned to take the case to the US Supreme Court.

Those must be some pretty horrific photos.

Today, word has it that President Obama will restore Bush-era military tribunals for terror suspects.  These are the same tribunals that he banned as one of his first official acts.  Mr. Obama says he will restore the tribunals "with improvements", but liberals see it as yet another way his administration is mirroring the Bush administration.

Perhaps President Obama's recent actions (and inaction) are the result of seeing the realities of Washington politics since taking office.  Maybe he just wants to pass the buck to Congress or the Supreme Court on every major issue.  Maybe he's a closet neocon, as some have suggested. Or maybe he's just a serial liar who will continue to break his promises to the American people.  In any case, he's not the "hope and change" president we elected.

Mr. Obama recently joked that during the next 100 days of his presidency, a library was being built to house the achievements of his first 100 days, implying those were the accomplishments that mattered to him the most.  Let's hope it really was just a joke, and we're not stuck with Bush redux for the next four years.

By the way, if anyone wants to buy a gently used Shepard Fairey Obama t-shirt, mine is up on eBay.

Scroll down to leave comments.