“The modern president is America’s shrink, a social worker, our very own national talk show host. He’s also the Supreme Warlord of the Earth.”
Gene Healy, “The Cult of the Presidency”

President Obama’s historic words last week announcing his support of full marriage equality for gay Americans was as simple as it was foundational: “I think same sex couples should be able to get married.” The full scope and impact of this fairly straightforward executive opinion have yet to be measured, but I have serious reason to think it will be somewhat similar to the society-shaking influence of—with apologies to the intolerant extreme of the religious right—Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery (I purposely chose that one, but it could easily have been any one of the Ten Greatest Hits).

With Obama’s offhand comment—spoken to an interviewer as one might say to a child “It’s wrong to lie”— he weaved presidential magic into the complex legerdemain of the gay partnerships in modern America. The Presidential Seal “of approval” (pun intended) brings with it the force and impact of a body blow, megaton-style, with an aura that encompasses all the majesty and dignity of the Republic within a single man. No king for us, insisted Washington and the other dead (and mostly straight, I’m guessing—but who knows?) white males who framed the Great Experiment in their own images, imperfect and cantankerous demigods though they may have been.

Instead of a monarch for the new nation, executive function and power were endowed in a presidency (such a magnitude of power, in fact, that political scientists are divided to the present day as to the wisdom of using the American Presidency as a blueprint for modern executive branches of government elsewhere), and that office would, through tumultuous centuries, be secularly anointed with the pomp, pageantry, and potency of a priest-king, celebrity icon, and national dad all rolled into one.

Make no mistake. The office endows a negative-charisma in many, if not most, of its historic occupants (although like all nations, we do love our scoundrels: FDR, JFK, and Bill Clinton all possessed a “forgivable” quality that drove their enemies to apoplexy). But even for those Commanders-in-Chief whom We The People have come to hate through the years—Nixon, Bush-43, Hoover, Grant, Buchanan, LBJ, and Truman, at least during his time in office—that hatred was almost invariably accompanied by a recognition that his office commanded a mystique and awe that even the most blowhard opposition politician has crumbled under in even the briefest visit to the Oval Office.

Obama’s isn’t merely the opinion of a talking head. Neither Rush Limbaugh, nor Howard Stern, nor Sean Hannity can command the grandeur, gravitas, might, majesty, and moral high ground—to say nothing of the 82nd Airborne Division—that emanates from the presidency. Obama was conjuring the shades of Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, Roosevelt (both of them), Truman, and Reagan when he placed the moral authority of his office squarely on the side of equality and justice for every American. In doing so, he potentially jeopardized his electoral relationship with his African American constituency (although I’m betting otherwise). No other prominent American leader could take such a calculated risk.

You talk about only Nixon being qualified to go to China.

Why should this be such a cause for sleepless nights among the enemies of equality? Consider. When the chief executive says “I think” this or that, he may indeed be voicing the opinion of a private citizen. On the other hand, when the Queen of England says “We are not amused,” she is speaking AS “we”—the entire United Kingdom, even those among her subjects who think she should be replaced by a Word Document containing a legible constitution. Which one, though, do you think gets their morning paper delivered faster?

Lincoln’s 1860s opposition to southern secession was admired, but considered mostly window dressing, since there was no constitutional framework for a president telling rebellious states that they couldn’t abscond from the Union (to say nothing of suspending habeas corpus, which still gives constitutional constructionists the shakes). FDR’s “welfare state” efforts in the 1930s during the desperate days of the Great Depression were met with hostility and accusations of “socialism” and “tyranny” (sound familiar?), because most Americans feared an activist government. But how many 70-year-old conservative senior citizens today are indignantly refusing their Social Security checks? Truman’s Missouri origins and political machine past made him an unlikely Commander-in-Chief to implement racial integration of the armed services, but “Give ‘em Hell” Harry knew the difference between right and wrong, and he acted accordingly.

In the 1990s, Bill Clinton was tagged by some in the media as America’s “first Black president” because of his reputed simpatico with the cause of racial justice, and for his close ties with African American leaders. This week, the cover of Newsweek featured an image of Obama with the well-deserved and hard-won caption “The First Gay President.” Although accusations of an “Imperial Presidency” may be leveled at him by his political enemies, under the circumstances—and certainly to most of his LGBT supporters—only the flexing of the Imperial Presidency’s muscles can deliver liberty and justice for all of us.

TALLAHASSEE – The battle lines are forming up, following President Barack Obama’s history-making endorsement last week of same sex marriage. In an interview with ABC News that aired in part last Wednesday night and concluded the next day on “Good Morning America,” the chief executive became the first sitting president to support full marriage equality for gays and lesbians, saying, “I think same sex couples should be able to get married.”

The spin doctors of both major parties immediately set about offering words of encouragement and condemnation. On Thursday, Gov. Rick Scott (R-Florida) told CNBC host Larry Kudlow that Obama’s public statement could have a strong negative impact in Florida, an impact that may be felt in his campaign for reelection and his ability to win Florida, with its large bloc of 29 electoral votes.
While referring to same sex marriage as a “non-issue” in the Sunshine State, Scott, who was elected governor in 2010 after spending approximately $75 million of his own fortune in his bid for the state’s top office, said that the conservative views of most Floridians had been heard at the ballot box, and that the president should take heed.

“It has already been decided,” Scott told Kudlow. “In 2008, over 60 percent of our voters passed a constitutional amendment saying there is not going to be same-sex marriage in Florida, so it’s a non-issue here. It will hurt the president here in Florida, his position.” During the 2008 presidential race, Obama won in Florida, beating his Republican opponent, Sen. John McCain, 51 to 48 percent. That margin is cause for concern as Democratic strategists weigh the numerous factors that will come into play in deciding the outcome in swing states with large electoral vote counts, including Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Virginia, all of which swung to Obama four years ago.

Other Republicans joined the chorus questioning Obama’s decision. “I think it’s going to cause an incredible discussion in the black community, because, as you know, on Sundays in the black community the most conservative people in America are in those black churches,” Rep. Allen West (R-Florida) said to ABC News last week. “I think it may have been a huge miscalculation, especially when you have 41 states that recognize marriage between one man and one woman, and you just came off an incredible loss to them. Sixty-nine percent voted [to ban same-sex marriage] in North Carolina, which is a key swing state he barely won last time,” said West said, who added that even though blacks supported the president four years ago, marriage equality was banned in both Florida and California.

In 1997, the Republican-controlled Florida legislature adopted the Defense of Marriage Act and likewise banned recognition of gay marriages performed in other states. At that time, only 27 percent of American said they supported same sex marriage. In 2008, opponents of marriage equality successfully championed passage of an amendment banning it the Florida state constitution.

Among the “big picture” questions being asked at water coolers and in the halls of Congress alike is what precisely motivated President Obama to announce his support for gay marriage, after more than two years of professing an “evolving” view on the topic? The appearance of Vice President Joe Biden days earlier in an interview in which he offered his own support for same sex marriage is seen by many as a happy (or unfortunate, depending on your point of view) unguarded moment on Biden’s part that “forced” Obama’s hand in making his own endorsement.

A new CBS News/New York Times survey shows that 67 percent believe that the president made his policy shift “mostly for political reasons,” and 24 percent say he did it “mostly because he thinks it is right.” The poll also shows that Americans’ ideas of fairness and equality have shifted, but remain complicated. According to the survey, 38 percent of Americans favor full marriage equality rights for gays, while 24 percent support civil unions that include many of the rights and privileges of formal marriage. A full third—33 percent—of Americans are against any kind of legal recognition. That number jumped when civil unions were dropped as an option, with 51 percent opposing same sex marriage and 42 percent supporting it.

Another important factor in the marriage equality debate is the growing number of Americans who admit to knowing or being friends with a gay or lesbian individual. In 2003, a CBS News/New York Times poll found that 44 percent had a coworker, friend, or family member who was gay. That number jumped to 69 percent in the new survey, with those individuals who know a gay person more likely to favor marriage equality.

Last month, the CBS News/New York Times poll found Obama and Romney tied, with 46 percent supporting each man. The most recent survey shows a slight edge for Romney over Obama—46 to 43 percent, with a margin of sampling error of plus or minus four percentage points, meaning the race remains a statistical dead heat.

The president’s vulnerability remains in spite of increased optimism about the economy. This may explain, at least in part, his shifting the debate away from “daddy” issues—those which relate to the economy, national security, and other policy matters where Republicans tend to hold sway among voters—toward “mommy” issues, which swing voters to Democrats, and which include social policy and spending, healthcare topics—and LGBT rights. By changing the conversation from those issues which are contentious for the president—jobs, the still-anemic economy, and the continuing distrust for Wall Street—to those which have the support of moderates and independents, Obama may be able to influence the dynamics which have thus far shaped the presidential race, and the way his countrymen perceive him.

Among those Americans who may perceive the president in the most critical light are social and religious conservatives. The president, who has professed his religious faith many times, must now convince religious voters, many who are divided over marriage equality, that his views on gay marriage don’t represent an attack on religious liberties or the freedom of churches to refuse to perform services that run contrary to their core beliefs. “We’re both practicing Christians,” Obama said during the interview, referring to his wife and himself. “And obviously this position may be considered to put us at odds with the views of others.”

In recognition of that important base of the electorate, shortly after declaring support for marriage equality, Obama placed a conference call to more than a half dozen African American ministers to explain his announcement and defend its consequences. The pastors represent one of the most divided constituencies the president has: black Americans who overwhelmingly support Obama while at the same time opposing marriage equality rights for gays.

According to the Rev. Delman Coates, a pastor who was on the conference call, the chief executive told the ministers that his decision had been a struggle of conscience, but that he believed he had made the right one. Most of the participating pastors agreed to “work aggressively” for the president’s reelection, but not all of them. “They were wrestling with their ability to get over his theological position,” said Coates, pastor of Mt. Ennon Baptist Church in Clinton, Maryland. “Gay marriage is contrary to their understanding of Scripture.”

Rev. Joel C. Hunter, the pastor of Northland, a conservative mega-church based in Central Florida, also spoke with the president on the phone after the ABC interview. “Some of the faith communities are going to be afraid that this is an attack against religious liberty,” Hunter told the president. “Absolutely not,” the president assured Hunter, who was elected President of the Christian Coalition in 2006, and who delivered a blessing for Obama in 2009 prior to his inauguration. “That’s not where we’re going, and that’s not what I want,” the president added.

The Most Reverend Peter Akwasi Sarpong, Archbishop Emeritus of Kumasi, condemned secular attempts to change the definition of the sacrament of marriage, defined as between a man and a woman, and said that “politicizing the essential function of the church could only be detrimental to the state, and the church must stand against political intimidation, bigotry, and deceit.”

Sarpong called upon Roman Catholic Church officials to remember their obligation of guiding the faithful through the administration of holy sacraments including baptism, confirmation, the Eucharist, and marriage, and added that it is the function of the church to “[assist] the state” in those policy areas “where the state fell short.”

The Roman Catholic dioceses of Ghana—hich lean towards the more conservative principles of the 2,000 year old institution—upply priests for many underserved regions in the U.S.

Ted Baillieu, Premier of Victoria, has promised to appoint members of the southwestern Australian region’s LGBT community to advise senior government ministers on matters including HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention, bullying, gay teen suicide, and an aging gay population.

The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex (GLBTI) Health and Wellbeing Committee—which will be appointed by Victoria Minister of Health David Davis and Minister of Mental Health, Women’s Affairs, and Community Services—has received wide praise from LGBT rights groups and others, but some conservative Members of Parliament (MPs) say that such a body is unnecessary and an overreaction to a problem that doesn’t exist.

“I don’t see what used to be known as ‘poofter-bashing’ happening, and I don’t see overt discrimination,” one senior MP told The Sunday Age newspaper. “It’s unnecessary.

You don’t need a committee for everything.” “Poofter” is a negative colloquialism used to describe homosexuals in the United Kingdom and other places with close cultural ties to the U.K., including Australia.

Experts on Australian politics say that the idea of a ministerial-level advisory committee was advocated by both of the state’s major political parties prior to 2010 state elections, as each side attempted to net progressive voters in the urban areas, including Melbourne, the state capital.

Minister of Health Davis applauded the plans for the GLBTI Committee, saying it will give gay rights advocates direct access to government officials and to shaping policies. He also told reporters that the government is considering “different testing approaches” to HIV – including “rapid testing,” which enables individuals to receive HIV test results within minutes, rather than weeks as is currently the case.

Public health experts say that the island nation’s HIV-screening methods are behind those employed by the rest of the industrialized world. “We’re aware of some of the international approaches,” remarked Davis, “and this would be a useful point for the ministerial advisory committee to give some direct advice on.”

“A Melbournian must wait up to two weeks for their HIV result, while a Londoner or a San Franciscan waits 20 minutes,” agreed Victorian AIDS Council executive director Matt Dixon. “Australia is lagging behind the rest of the world regarding this.”

Part 2 of a 2-part Series

WILTON MANORS – In the aftermath of his nearly three-hour ordeal with a man whom he says held him against his will in his own apartment, Robert Jacobs, a seeingimpaired part-time resident of Wilton Manors, describes a twilight period of anxiety, confusion, and conflicting emotions which ended in a restless sleep after being held against his will after a home invasion.

As we reported in last week’s Agenda (“Violent Predator Assaults Sight- Impaired Man”), a local drifter and suspected hustler who was known to Jacobs by voice (and who we’ll call “Jim” for the sake of this article), met the Boston-native in the early morning hours of March 17, as Jacobs returned home from a visiting a friend a few miles away in Fort Lauderdale’s city limits.

It was the beginning of a harrowing experience, recounted in the May 3 Agenda (the complete story can also be read online at floridaagenda. com/2012/05/03/violent-predatorassaults- sight-impaired-gay-man). Following Jim’s departure at around 5:30 a.m., his victim fell into a fitful sleep that was broken by the ringtone of Jacobs’ iPhone.

“I went to sleep and woke up when the phone rang,” Jacobs relates. When the phone rang a few hours later, it was mid-morning on March 17—St. Patrick’s Day—but Jacobs was anything but cheerful. Jim’s violent assault had left Jacobs’ ribs badly injured and bruised, and it was with both relief and shame that Jacobs answered the phone and relayed the events of the past few hours to a sympathetic friend. That person came to Jacobs’ apartment, where he found his sightless friend demoralized and injured. Although another friend, who is a doctor, came to check on Jacobs’ injuries, the victim was more interested in reporting the crime to the Wilton Manors police.

Unfortunately, Jacobs felt his complaint was not being taken seriously when he first reported the crime. It was only after the detective currently assigned to the case, Det. Biagio Balustreri, learned the details of Jacobs’ ordeal, that he began to be heard. “He overheard the original detective and asked to be assigned,” remarks a grateful Jacobs. “He called me and said ‘I want to hear your story,’ and he did—e interviewed me for over two hours and took down every detail.”

According to Jacobs, the man we refer to as Jim is well known to the case detective as someone with a history of preying upon vulnerable men. “Look at the guy whose apartment he took me to before he came to my place,” Jacobs says about the man who referred to Jim as his “master.”

Although he wouldn’t comment about an open case, Wilton Manors Police Chief Paul O’Connell advises that anyone out on the city’s streets after dark must be judicious in whom they are engaging. He also told the Agenda “I’m a firm believer in the ‘wolf pack’ theory. Travel like a wolf. Travel like a pack.”

Jacobs himself is looking forward to the prosecution of Jim. Because of the peculiarities of Florida law, Jacobs—as a sightless man—s not eligible for the state’s criminal law definition of an “eyewitness.” “This is why anyone who has any information about being attacked, or held against his will, or threatened by a person who sounds like [Jim], should contact Wilton Manors Police,” urges Jacobs. “We have to help them put this guy away.”

According to the State Board of Elections, approximately 500,000 people cast ballots in early voting— primary record for the state. The victory by a margin of more than 20 points came after acrimonious weeks of campaigning by opponents and supporters of the measure, and millions of dollars spent to win the hearts and minds of the electorate.

“We are not anti-gay—e are promarriage,” said Tami Fitzgerald, the chairwoman of Vote for Marriage NC, at a victory rally in Raleigh. “And the point, the whole point is simply that you don’t rewrite the nature of God’s design for marriage based on the demands of a group of adults.”

Marriage equality supporters raised record amounts of donation money to fight the amendment, which reads “marriage between one man and one woman is the only domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognized in this state.”

Opponents of Amendment One warned that along with denying the legality of all types of same-sex unions, the measure could also affect over 150,000 heterosexual couples who cohabitate but aren’t married, invalidating domestic violence regulations, child visitation and custody arrangements, and hospital access.

“I will not lie to myself anymore about my own sexuality,” said Rep. Zach Wyatt, a first-term member of the state General Assemble. “Today I ask you to stand with me as a proud Republican, a proud veteran, and a proud gay man who wants to protect all kids.” According to the Victory Fund—which supports the recruitment and election of LGBT candidates to public office—yatt, 27, is the only openly-gay Republican member of a state legislature in the U.S.

The legislation, HB 2051, requires a ban on school curriculum, materials, or extracurricular activities in the Missouri public schools that discuss sexual orientation except in “scientific instruction concerning human reproduction.”

A former U.S. Air Force linguist who raises cattle in rural Northern Missouri, Wyatt said that he had been bullied throughout school because of a weight problem and for “not always being perceived as the most masculine of men.”

He said that the thought of “accepting” his own sexual identity was “probably the hardest thing to come to terms with. I’ve always ignored it and didn’t even think about it or talk about it.”

Darnell “Dynasty” Young became the target of bullies after he transferred to Arsenal Technical High School last year. The openly gay 17 year old was harassed by classmates who followed him to his house, spread rumors about his sexual activities, and threw bottles at him. He told the Star that he contemplated suicide but decided against it.

Young’s mother reported the harassment to school officials several times, but was told that administrators were powerless to act because her son wasn’t able to identify his tormentors.

School principal Larry Yarrell is reported to have said, “If you wear female apparel, then kids are kids and they’re going to say whatever it is that they want to say. Because you want to be different and because you choose to wear female apparel, it may happen.”

The teen’s mother gave him the stun gun for his protection, a situation that became all too real for the teen on April 16, when a group of students threatened to attack him. Young, frightened for his life, fired the weapon into the air, drawing the attention of school security personnel, who arrested him.

“While the district does not condone bullying, it also does not allow weapons to be brought on our school campuses for any reason,” an Indianapolis Public Schools spokeswoman said. “Students who violate this rule will be held accountable.” Young will be eligible to return to classes in January.

Speaking with NBC’s David Gregory, Biden said “I am absolutely comfortable with the fact that men marrying men, women marrying women and heterosexual men and women marrying one another are entitled to the same exact rights, all the civil rights, all the civil liberties.”

“I just think that the good news is that as more and more Americans come to understand what this is all about is a simple proposition. Who do you love? Who do you love?” Biden asked rhetorically. “And will you be loyal to the person you love? And that’s what people are finding out is what, what all marriages, at their root, are about. Whether they’re marriages of lesbians or gay men or heterosexuals.”

PITTSBURGH, PA ? Although he publicly defended the hiring of Richard Grenell?the openly gay foreign policy spokesman hired by Republican Mitt Romney?s presidential campaign two weeks ago?he departure of the former Bush State Department aide sent a signal to the religious and social conservative wing of the Republican Party, who remain unconvinced of the presumptive nominee?s commitment to their principles in the public policy arena. While Romney called Grenell, who resigned on May 1, a ?capable individual? and said that he had wanted him to stay on his job, within hours the former Massachusetts governor was meeting behind closed doors with former rival Rick Santorum, who had won his conservative credentials early in the primary season.

LGBT rights groups say that Grenell?s appointment?nd sudden departure?underscore the discomfort with which the religious and social conservative elements of the Republican Party?s base feel towards a GOP ?big tent? that includes gay members. Grenell, who was hired in late April as the spokesman for Romney on matters of foreign policy and national security, previously served as communications director for the U.S. mission to the United Nations.

Grenell?s support for marriage equality earned him sharp rebukes from members of the religious right because of his sexual identity. ?Romney picks out & loud gay as a spokesman,? tweeted American Family Association (AFA) spokesman Bryan Fischer after Grenell?s appointment. Referring to Romney, Fischer added ?If personnel is policy, his message to the pro-family community: drop dead.? Later, appearing on CNN, Fischer declared that ?The homosexual agenda represents the single-greatest threat to religious liberty and freedom of association in America today.?

Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council (FRC) condemned Grenell?s political activism in seeking to classify ?sexual orientation? as a basic human right under the U.N. Charter, and speculated that a Grenell who was highly-placed in the State Department would in effect serve as a gay ?mole.? ?While past performance is not a guarantee of future results,? Perkins offered, ?there is strong evidence that Grenell would lobby for foreign policy more in line with the current administration than the last Republican one.?

Former FRC president Gary Bauer added, ?His appointment was disappointing because it comes at a time when the Romney campaign should be reaching out to the conservative base.

Instead, this appointment seems like a slap at the base.?

?It?s a little disconcerting to see a man just hired by the Romney campaign write passionately about how ?gays are going to win support for their political issues,?? posted Matthew J. Franck, Director of the William E. and Carol G. Simon Center on Religion and the Constitution at the Witherspoon Institute in Princeton, New Jersey, online at nationalreview.com.

Grenell, 45, graduated with a master?s degree from Harvard University?s John F. Kennedy School of Government. In 2001, he was appointed by President George W. Bush to serve as Director of Communications and Public Diplomacy for the United States Permanent Representative to the United Nations.

Following his resignation from the Romney campaign, Grenell said that felt his ability to perform his job was ?greatly diminished by the hyper-partisan discussion of personal issues.?