Comments

1
TIPPING POINT.
2
AWESOME!!! GO DAN!!!!
3
yes yes yes
4
Well done sir. Well done.

Referring (mostly) do Dan. Post a powerful message on youtube, and 1 month later the president himself is sharing your message.
5
Holy crap! How does it feel, Dan?
6
I'm feeling that hope thing again. Wow.
7
He may be giving gay servicemembers the runaround, but at least he's fighting for the kids out there.

Especially since it hit home pretty hard, land of Hutch and his crusade against gay teens http://www.lgbtqnation.com/2010/10/secon…
8
'I dont know what it's like to be picked on because I'm gay"

Let me help you Mr President. You are excluded from activities and social groups because you are gay. You would be ostracized from you family and community because you are gay. You would be denied basic fairness because you are gay. Your President would tell you that you're are not good enough to serve in the military because you are gay. Your senators would tell you that your love of someone of the same gender threatens the modern family and marriage will be destroyed because you're gay. You would be told by the President that you should never have the full faith and credit of the Constitution to carry the benefits of the hetero married Americans to a state you move to. You would be a second class citizen.

Fuck you Obama, fuck you.
9
This is such an amazing project. The message is spreading across the country (and getting to us Canadafolk, too). It's only been a few weeks and so many people have responded. I'm sure that this is making a huge difference, and will continue to do so, for LGBT youth everywhere. :)
10
Holy shit! Well done, Dan.
11
With respect to this video in particular, it's rather patronizing because Obama has the power to make things better for LGBT youth right away. They shouldn't have to wait for it to get better. :/
12
I'm feeling like this is the second "pandering for the gay vote" video. This is "I can speak pretty, but ignore my actions."

Fuck off, Obama.
13
Yay Dan, also yay Truckloadbear.

Basically Obama has given the Gay Rights Movement a chance to speak back . . . which is nice, but not so much for him I hope.
14
May we look back on this and indeed see that the tide has turned. Hold on to hope, and remember that battles will continue to be fought.
15
Aren't you gonna get mad and tell him to fuck off because he's 'co-opting' your message or something? C'mon, don't let your fans down.
16
Um, Dan isn't exactly the reason for the tipping point. All the gay-related suicides are.
17
I must confess, my friends, the road ahead will not always be smooth. There will be still rocky places of frustration and meandering points of bewilderment. There will be inevitable setbacks here and there. There will be those moments when the buoyancy of hope will be transformed into the fatigue of despair. Our dreams will sometimes be shattered and our ethereal hopes blasted. We may again with tear-drenched eyes have to stand before the bier of some courageous civil rights worker whose life will be snuffed out by the dastardly acts of bloodthirsty mobs. Difficult and painful as it is, we must walk on in the days ahead with an audacious faith in the future. ... When our days become dreary with low-hovering clouds of despair, and when our nights become darker than a thousand midnights, let us remember that there is a creative force in this universe, working to pull down the gigantic mountains of evil, a power that is able to make a way out of no way and transform dark yesterdays into bright tomorrows. Let us realize the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice.
18
Thanks again for starting this, Dan. The President is the strongest ally the LGBTQ community has ever had in the White House. I appreciate this for what it is on its own: if even one questioning teenage kid sees this and has hope, it is worth it. I don't think many bullied or struggling kids are saying, "Yeah, but he's not repealing DADT as fast as I would like," or "He is moving towards acceptance of gay marriage only as fast as most of the country." They are seeing the President of the United States telling them that they are valued.
19
Congratulations, Dan. Way to use your own bully pulpit for good.
20
Congrats Dan! One person can create change!
21
He's not perfect, but he's the most pro-gay in history by a wide margin. That much is indisputable.
22
True Confluence...
Here's hoping that now we get more than just talk from Obama.
Here's hoping that the districts who let these kids die get their budgets slashed so long as the administrators who were asleep at the wheel still have jobs. Here's hoping that Obama will have some fucking balls for one thing that won't cost him political points: The safety of children in our public schools.
23
That and an ORCA card will get you a ride on LINK.

Answer to bullying for gays?

http://photogallery.filmofilia.com/data/…

Yeah. Kick. Ass.

24
Yes, I am very angry regarding his procrastination in ending DADT, DOMA, etc. for political reasons. However, I am so grateful to him for doing this. Yes, we see the harm of the double standard, but the LBGT kids out there, alone, struggling and scared see first and foremost the President tell them directly they are valuable. He could have chosen not to do that, knowing that if he did many would cry foul, but decided to accept those criticisms and do it anyway with the hopes that if the POTUS tells you it's okay to be gay, then maybe these kids would consider living.

Good show.
25
I like that he didn't do a Clintonian "I feel your pain" and said he doesn't know what its like to be picked on for being gay.
26
HUGE!
27
Nice work, Dan! I bet Obama gets a weekly briefing on your columns.
28
I am so appreciative that we have a sitting president who took the time to send this message.

To the naysayers: No, the President of the United States CANNOT make it better. Not immediately. The president cannot make it better today for queer kids any more than you can, any more than a mayor or senator can. We can't all be there in the classroom, in the hallway, gym, locker room, in the places where queer kids are bullied, belittled, harassed, and attacked. We can't be bodyguards for all of these kids. We can't fix this problem all at once. What we can do, however, is make sure that every queer kid out there who is terrified or heartbroken has some glimmer of hope.

That's what this project is about. Lay off DADT and DOMA for a split second. I'm pretty pissed about the legislative side of queer politics right now, but do you think the kid that got stuffed in a trash can today at school is worried about whether he's going to be able to join the Navy or whether he's going to be able to marry someday? No, he's worried about whether he can survive one more day. This message from President Obama, and all the messages pouring into the It Gets Better project, are about survival.

Please remember that.
29
YEAH FUCK THIS!

This is CRAP. It has been TWO WHOLE YEARS and Obama hasn't fixed thousands of years of homophobia, racism, sexism, xenophobia, classism, fear, stupidity, etc.

Fuck you obama! I am so terribly let down by realizing that voting for one moderate liberal president doesn't instantly transform the world.

I expected to be able to do nothing except spend 5 minutes to vote for ONE GUY and everything would be better without having to do a whole lot about it.

I WANT MY JETPACK!!

All you single-issue Obama-bashers are as nuts as the teabaggers. It's like you never picked up a book of history in your life.
30
Nicely done, Dan.
31
I'm so glad Obama did this. For those who have sneered of him that he's only good at offering "pretty words," this entire campaign and his video are a good example of the fact that WORDS MATTER.

I think it's very easy and appropriate to argue that if one truly believes gay kids have done nothing wrong, then one must believe that gay kids can grow up to serve in the military and marry each other. But that is something we will continue impressing on the president, and because he is not anti-gay in spite of what some in the community believe, it just might sink in.

I congratulate Dan on the project and I Obama-hope he doesn't respond by telling the POTUS to fuck off on this. :0)
32
@8 Preach it brother

@28, I haven't made a video myself because in a lot of ways (like, say, getting kicked out of the Army) it hasn't gotten better. To stay with DADT because it's in the news right now, gay kids are continually told that no matter how good they are, no matter how hard they work, no matter how strong or brave or how good they are with a rifle, they are such horrible people that their mere presence in the military would cause it to explode.

And the President keeps saying that. Over and over and over again.

Now, is a teenage kid going to kill himself just because he can't join the Marines? Probably not. But does it contribute? You bet your fucking ass it does.
33
The only reason his DOJ is appealing the decision is because the military leaders insist upon it. Our government is beholden to these warmongering murdering capitalistic christian whores.

Is Obama just another one of them....but a lovely orator? A softer - kinder / gentler face on the machine that drives this country: the Haliburton Industrial Complex?
34
whoa
35
There is a lot lacking with this President.

But go back. Bush encouraging LGBTQ kids? Clinton? Bush Sr? REAGAN??? NEVER!!

There is a tide turning. Obama is on the wrong side of it legislatively, but he is a moderate and not everything his administration does is solely about him. What is about him is that he took the time to contribute to a side project whose pure goal is to reach out to queer kids and say that it gets better.

Surely that's worth a pause and a word of praise for our president.
36
@29

You're awesome.
37
One more point:

Why are we so up in arms about nothing getting done with ENDA and DOMA and DADT and stuff that will actually make a difference in the lives of people?

Because this President has shown time and again that he thinks he can buy our community with nothing but pretty words and symbolic gestures. He won't lift a finger to help federal workers get health insurance for their domestic partners or stop firing gay soldiers, but he'll invite a token gay couple to the Easter egg roll.

He's doing the exact same damn thing here. A nice, pretty speech that shows he's against teen suicide. Hell, maybe if we press him he'll admit to being against rape and serial killers too.
38
@29:
Strong work!
39
@29 FTW
40
Wow. Congrats for starting this movement and having it get so dang far, Dan!
41
Wow. Just wow. And he didn't avoid the phrase either like Clinton seemed to.

Nice work, Dan. I'll be interested to see your take on this in the morning, but I'm guessing this thing has blown past any expectations you might have had.
42
Thanks for really reaching out and making a difference, Dan.

And aren't you so, so glad that we don't have McCain/Palin in the White House? Because, THAT, my friends, was the alternative to Obama. Not Ralph Nader, not Dennis Kucinich, but John Adulterous Homophobe McCain and Sarah Sent-from-Satan Palin. THAT's what the Republican Party offered us less than two years ago as a solution to our country's problems, and THAT's what they're spending hundreds of millions of dollars this year to bring back.
43
Obama can pander all he wants if it will make a difference to one kid who sees that video. The adults can take care of the adult issues (feet to the fire, etc.), this one is for the kids.
44
It's cool and all to get the prez, but it's not big until we get IGBP videos from:
1. The pope
2. God
3. Loveschild
45
@29 FTL

anybody who doesn't think Obama has EPIC failed on the GLBT front so far (and, especially, this week) is blind. Anybody who doesn't think that a President doesn't deserve criticism is a lemming. One can criticize the epic gay rights fail while acknowledging he has succeeded or failed separately on other fronts.

And, if you don't see this as an attempt to garner the gay vote, I wouldn't trust your easily-duped ass with a ballot.
46
You and Terry must be very proud, Dan (and you should be) that It Gets Better has exploded into the national consciousness. Everybody knows about it now, and now, it will do its maximum good. What a wonderful idea this was.
47
He's just trying to get back on your good side, Dan.
48
Whether he's just offering pretty words, or not promising to magically fix the world's problems like some sort of Santa/Jesus/Obi/Wan Kenobi hybrid, or not moving decisively enough to repeal DADT or DOMA, Obama's message lifts this issue into a whole new sphere of visibility and widens the discourse significantly. And that has to be good.

So yes, this is some sort of tipping point. Big changes often start small.

The issue of bullying, of the essential okay-ness of being a gay teen, will spread to the full extension of civil rights to all citizens--it's inevitable. This recognition by the president is an important step in chipping away at old walls. It is also an affirmation that what started out as Dan's wonderful idea has snowballed into a national movement--in about a month's time. The issue is gaining momentum at an extraordinary rate. So yes, it's a good thing.
49
@44 good luck on #3
50
So what ARE you going to do with your Peace Prize, Dan?
51
Leaving aside the DADT and DOMA issues, I would love to see the president make having an anti-bullying program in place that specifically addresses sexual preference and gender identification one of the credentials for a school to be eligible for Race to the Top funding. That is completely in his power, and would put a lot of weight behind the heartfelt message he shares here.
52
@45: The gay vote? Bahahahahahahaha, wow.

No, this isn't about the gay vote, this is exactly what it is on its face, a plea to kids who are victimized by bullying. The website it was posted on, which links extensively to resources both federal and private, actually addresses bullying specifically: http://www.whitehouse.gov/itgetsbetter

Remember, even in the most tolerant of places, gay kids still get bullied. Even where gays get the full battery of rights, they still get bullied. Bullying transcends adult politics, anti-gay crimes transcend the law.

This all begs the question of purpose. For many, it is certainly a fundamental plea for kids to understand that it gets better, recognizing that even the most awkward of people can appeal to someone and make them feel better at just the right time.

But for some, however, it seems to be the politicization of death for personal gain.
53
I'm sorry to rain on everyone's parade but I find this video kind of appalling. Obama is co-opting what was specifically intended to be a gay cause, and is shifting the spotlight away from LGBT students. In fact, the only time in the entire speech that he can bring himself to say the word "lgbt" (much less "gay" or "lesbian or anything of the sort) is to shift attention away from them! It's as if Obama said, "Well the GMHC is all well and good, but there's a bigger health crisis generally in this country that we should *really* be paying attention to." Given Obama's disastrous record on gay rights - bungling DADT, being further to the right than Bush and Cheney on gay marriage, defending DOMA, etc. - he is the last person who should be telling people "Stop worrying so much about 'just LGBT Americans' - .what about all these other kids." I have a feeling Dan deep down is wishing he just shut up.
54
@45:

That's ridiculous. Obama has always been moderate on the gay-rights front. He has always been against gay marraige (a position I disagree with), but has consistently pressed forward on a number of issues. He, and the country as a whole, can't make massive changes overnight just with the sweep of a pen. Undoing the DOMA is difficult.

But one could make equally ridiculous accusations about Obama when it comes to Immigration, where there has been far LESS progress and almost NO vocal support for serious reform. If you want to critique Obama for dropping the ball somewhere, it would probably be there even more than with gay rights.

It's only an "epic fail" if you're stupid enough to think that Obama would have single-handedly repealed the DOMA, legalized same-sex marraige nationally, and unraveled DODT all by himself.

Characterizing this administration, which has been the best on gay rights in US history (which unfortunately still isn't saying a whole lot), is absurd.

Here's a short list of things I wish Obama could have accomplished as well: prosecuting torture, single-payer healthcare, tax reform, trade, significantly reduced military spending, etc etc etc. But I have a brain, with thoughts in them, and I realize that progress on many issues are made slowly, through the political process, and the President of the United States is not a king. You may not be aware that we live in a republic with whole layers of local, state, and national government, with numerous bodies all acting independently of each other. And a whole lot of these branches and localities are still batshit psycho, and the Democrats have to drag a lot of people kicking and screaming into the 18th century, including quite a few of their own...

It is narrow-minded and unproductive to focus on a singular issue in an irrational way, particularly given the progress that continues to be made for gay rights, and statements like these from the president, together with campaigns like Dan's are all CRUCIAL to the slow shift in public opinion that will allow politicians like Obama and politicians that will follow (including Republicans who will be slower to come along) to make the broad societal changes in the interest of justice.

Obama hasn't pushed through reparations for slavery, either. I don't see people throwing a hissy fit about that. Let's have some thoughts, alright? If around every corner all you see is alterior motives and pandering for votes, then there will never be any politician to satisfy you. Politicians represent GROUPS of people, not just YOU. AGGREGATE interests, not just individuals. Dennis Kucinich, Dan Savage, Jim McDermott will never be President. That's unfortunate, but it's a truth you have to accept unless you insist on delusional political hallucinations.

55
@53: http://www.whitehouse.gov/itgetsbetter

How many times does it say "LGBT" or a variant thereof? What percentage of links on that website are geared toward queer youth?

I think this is my mea culpa. I'm sorry Queer Youth Space kids, I really fucking am. No, us adults are so often too fucking caught up in our own issues to pay attention to your legitimate needs. Where can I donate?
56
The only way this campaign could improve any further will be when Pope Bent-a-Dick XVI makes a similar video addressed to his vast unapologetic flock of child molesters.
57
@53: Thank you for raining on our parade. You're right. The video is appalling. The President should have just come out and said what you thought he meant: "Yo, teen fags, you're right to off yourselves. CUZ YOU'RE FAGS. And too bad for you Bush and Cheney aren't still in the White House, as my man 'metalrobotic' knows, it was a pink paradise for you all then. And by the way, the only reason I made this vid was because I only really care about straight kids. And Dan Savage, don't you feel stupid now?"
58
It's a weird juxtaposition that it's more than you would expect from the POTUS, yet less than he could have done.
59
@53: "I'm sorry to rain on everyone's parade but I find this video kind of appalling."

The most powerful man on earth releasing a video voicing support for gay kids to feel welcomed, loved, and supported in their lives and communities in the face of homophobic discrimination is hardly "appalling."

There are many appalling things happening in this country. This is NOT one of them.

If you can't distinguish between Carl Paladino and Barack Obama, then maybe you should try trouble-shooting the closed caption features on your life and start paying attention to the world outside of the Seattle bubble.
60
I'm thrilled that Obama took this step! It is a big deal for the president to address LGBT teen suicide. He's paying attention and I applaud that.

Yes, there is more he could be doing like dropping the bipartisanship attempts and pushing through policies but if he does rest assured that the next Republican in office will simply overthrow the changes he made. Yes, I want change and I want it now but things are at least getting better.
61
I'm thrilled that Obama took this step! It is a big deal for the president to address LGBT teen suicide. He's paying attention and I applaud that.

Yes, there is more he could be doing like dropping the bipartisanship attempts and pushing through policies but if he does rest assured that the next Republican in office will simply overthrow the changes he made. Yes, I want change and I want it now but things are at least getting better.
62
I'm thrilled that Obama took this step! It is a big deal for the president to address LGBT teen suicide. He's paying attention and I applaud that.

Yes, there is more he could be doing like dropping the bipartisanship attempts and pushing through policies but if he does rest assured that the next Republican in office will simply overthrow the changes he made. Yes, I want change and I want it now but things are at least getting better.
63
apologies for the double post...log in issues!
64
Oh Baconcat, you'll never get that Slog button now...
65
This is what you refer to as awesome sauce. Go Dan go! And yay Obama! I'm interested to see what sort of action will come out of this. You know, putting numbers to the emotions that are happening right now of how many people are being helped and reached. Does this make me a downer? It's just that it would suck if all of this happened, and the President noticed, and we all just formed a bunch of committees to talk about the issues instead of taking definitive action. Ick!
66
Just when I feel like Obama needs to grow a pair...he says something absolutely beautiful. Thanks, Mr. President. Now put some more nails in DADT's coffin.

@29: You win this thread.
67
Thank you Dan. This is a positive historical moment. One toe at a time....
68
Meaningless words spoken by a man who is fighting to maintain official anti-gay discrimination in America, policies that harm gay kids just as much as any pastor or schoolyard bully. But for Obama, DADT would now be dead. So how does it get better, exactly?
69
These are just words. Obama is saying this to win your vote. As W. puts it: Fool me once.. I can't git fooled again.
70
"Marriage should only be between a man and a woman. Even the president says so." Every anti-gay asshole with a microphone says it and it's true.

So yeah, Mr. President, tell us when, exactly, does it get better? 2012? 2016?
71
All you single-issue Obama-bashers are as nuts as the teabaggers. It's like you never picked up a book of history in your life.

If you think that a President who believes strongly in the right of the state to detain suspects indefinitely without charge, or to assassinate citizens without due process...that a President who prosecutes whistle-blowers at a higher rate than his predecessor, who hypocritically believes in prosecuting people who commit the same victimless crimes he committed as a youth, who believes that homosexuals are not deserving of the same basic rights as heterosexuals, and who believes in and authorizes foreign policies which make us less secure while causing this:

http://www.rawa.org/temp/runews/rawagall…

If you think this President is "different," that he's not just another power-drunk mediocrity beloved by millions of people who'd be lost without a leader, then I think you ought to brush up on some history, yourself.

Oh, but look, he made a nice video telling gay kids that, even though he doesn't think they deserve equal rights under the law, they really are in some way, equal. What a fucking guy.

Why not tell the family members of the people in the pictures above how lucky they are that the guy who authorized their violent destruction is so different from the other guys who did it.
72
The one thing I'm disappointed in about the video is that he didn't really address what to do if kids don't have anyone in their lives that they can trust. So many of these stories involve asshole parents and teachers, kids with few friends, etc. With luck, the other videos in this series will fill in the gaps. But it would have been a nice move if Obama had stressed a little more explicitly that if kids don't feel they have anyone they can trust, there are avenues available to find the support and assistance they need.
73
Okay, yes I'm mad at Obama for not getting rid of DADT fast enough.

But this is the first time any US President has ever spoken to the issue of LGBT teen suicide. He may be imperfect, but you can bet your ass we wouldn't be getting a message like this from President McCain or VP Palin. Nor are you seeing any IGB videos from a single republican politician on any level. Obama didn't have to do this video. It was the right thing to do, and he did it.

I'm still gonna stay pissed about the DADT thing, but I will give him props for this.
74
@68: "But for Obama, DADT would now be dead."

Bullshit. If McCain were in office, DADT would be as strong as ever.

Obama has unambiguously advocated for ending DADT, which is EXACTLY what he is doing, AS WE SPEAK.

You may not be aware, but DADT is federal law. The President doesn't pass laws, and cannot overturn them. The Legislature does that. The President and his Dept. of Justice is tasked with enforcing the law, including laws the President is against. Maybe you missed that week of the fifth grade...?
75
This mocumentary of Obama's speech at UW does a decent job of capturing what we are all talking about here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9s_s-ewe…
76
@59

Finally. Someone SMART on Slog. Stick around, Captain.
77
Maybe YOU missed all the legal experts who've weighed in on the issue. The Obama administration DID NOT HAVE to appeal the decision finding DADT unconstitutional; it did. Why? So he can get it overturned in the legislature? And how will he do that, exactly?
78
Thanks, Mr. President. It does get better.

But you know what? You could do a hell of a lot more than you are to make it better.

Make it clear to every Democratic member of Congress that unless they stand up to repeal DADT and DOMA, and to enact a real ENDA, that you will make their lives an absolute pit of hell, and do it, and we may believe you. Right now, though, there are executive departments--departments you control--that are working against our interests.

Mr. President, I voted for you because I believed you were a progressive. As it has turned out, you are not. I'm not working on the Democratic campaign this year--and yours in 2008 was the first and only on which I ever worked--and the reason I'm not is because you have failed us. Progressives supported you, progressives elected you, and unless you are progressive and actually bring some balls to the Democratic Party, progressives will rightly desert you.
79
@54 Theres a difference between single-handedly solving gay rights, and actively allowing your cabinet to work against them. Doing nothing is one thing. Pushing backwards is another. Fuck him.

All politicians have alterior motives. That's politics.
80
If only any of his actions lived up to his pretty words. Thanks for more words, Obama! Too bad you're not in a position to actually do anything about it. Jeezus Christ people, how many times do we have to go over this? He says some pretty words, ya'll swoon, and then he continues to dick us over as you rush to his defense. RINSE AND REPEAT.
81
@71: Yes. I'm sorry. You're right. I think we should bring back G.W.B. That would clearly be better.

Better yet, we could just let McCain-Palin run things. The John McCain who filibustered the repeal of DADT exactly a month ago, and promises to do it again if needed.
82
@79: "actively allowing your cabinet to work against them."

Example, please?

(And don't embarrass yourself by saying A.G. Eric Holder.)
83
Also, Dan, thank you for including the transcript under the fold. I appreciate that!
84
@72 check the Whitehouse.gov site
http://www.whitehouse.gov/itgetsbetter

Obama does provide resources: The Trevor Project, BullyingInfo.org, It Gets Better Project, Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), Matthew Shepard Foundation, and Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG).

A White House page devoted to encouraging gay teens? It's progress.
85
@29 Hilarious!
86
Captain Wiggette's on fire.

Without even thinking about it for two seconds, I can think of three significant changes he's made -- providing federal funding for stem cell research, appointing two left leaning supreme court justices, and winding down a costly and brutally oppressive, ideologically driven war.

And the unfortunate reality, as @79 points out there, is that he's got some ulterior motives. Specifically, I'd say he's concerned probably with getting himself & his legislative peers re-elected (shocking!) in order to continue to further his motives & political agenda.

And even more unfortunately, I think he recognizes the stupid and moronic reality that taking a hardline stance against DADT & DOMA could be a costly political move on his part. No sane and rational person (and I'm quite certain Obama qualifies as such) thinks taking such a stance is anything remotely approaching "radical", but I do think there's a significant segment of our society that believes just that, and that to alienate that segment by taking such a public stance could ultimately do more harm than good (seriously -- can you imagine having a couple more fat, pro-life white guys on the court, as would have been the case had McCain been elected, rather than Kagan & Sotomayor? I certainly don't even like to think about it.)

Wonderful project Dan. Much love to you & everyone else who contributed to it.
87
All I can say is: Holy shit!
88
Interesting, I discovered this (note date 10/9/10) while stumbling around whitehouse.gov:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/10/0…
89
Thank you Mr President. I'm so sick of people having turned their backs on Obama because of DADT. It makes me wish more liberals would march in lock step like they do on the other side. Did people turn away from Bush because he didn't do every little thing they wanted him to? No. They stuck with him. Are Repubs in Congress bending even one little inch to help Obama do more to help the country? No. Because they would rather screw the country over than let him succeed in any way; that lock step mentality again.

You whiners are a bunch of fair weather friends.

Again, thanks to the President, and thanks to Dan (who I'm more likely to disagree with on many things).
90
@ 79 I think somebody has confused Obama with his daddy.

Why are you mad at your father? Do you need to talk about it?

Yes, all politicians have ulterior motives. Congratulations, you're a genius.
91
Why does it matter if the words are "empty" or not? In this situation, politics don't matter. It doesn't matter if he's trying to get into the LGBT good books, or if he's just pandering for votes (doubtful). The fact is that seeing this video could save a kid's life. All that matters is someone that millions of people look up to, and who is running the "most powerful country in the world" (that's what you guys always say, right?), stood up to say SOMETHING POSITIVE.

Why can't people just let it be what it is at face value? The president trying to offer some hope to kids that really need it.
92
The geek in me is amused to note that many of the whitehouse.gov links do not work properly unless there is a trailing /

Whoops. I wonder if that's a customized version of Drupal. Hmmmmm...
93
Ho. Lee. Shit.

I wonder if Dan ever though this project would get this big when he started it...
94
Dan and Terry, you rock, but also every single person who contributed to IGBP rocks. This is an example of consciousness moving upward by the force of one voice added to another and another. Dan didn't do it by himself.

For all those angry at Obama over DADT - and count me in - remember the goal of IGBP was never to undo DADT. The goal was to save young lives. We don't yet have a measure of the project's success at saving lives - and measuring numbers of lives saved may be impossible - but if public awareness is an indirect marker, we have caused a huge movement in public awareness in a very short time. That's an amazing achievement.
95
I guess I was wrong on what I said earlier... He made a video showing support. I tip my hat to that.

Now, to get rid of DADT...
96
I can't believe this thread is such a "Congrats Dan" and "OMG Obama" fanboy circlejerk, as if some tenuous electronic link with the President is Dan's highest aspiration.

I mean, if this video means something to some LGBT kid somewhere, that's awesome, but it'll be in spite of the nauseating hypocrisy dripping from it. There are about a million better things he could be doing for queers, and I refuse to get excited over the crumbs he's willing to toss.
97
Ah, and for those confused by the false dichotomy (Mc Cain and Palin would have done less) here's a little Douglass Adams (from "So Long And Thanks For All The Fish)

"It comes from a very ancient democracy, you see..."

"You mean, it comes from a world of lizards?"

"No," said Ford, who by this time was a little more rational and coherent than he had been, having finally had the coffee forced down him, "nothing so simple. Nothing anything like to straightforward. On its world, the people are people. The leaders are lizards. The people hate the lizards and the lizards rule the people."

"Odd," said Arthur, "I thought you said it was a democracy."

"I did," said ford. "It is."

"So," said Arthur, hoping he wasn't sounding ridiculously obtuse, "why don't the people get rid of the lizards?"

"It honestly doesn't occur to them," said Ford. "They've all got the vote, so they all pretty much assume that the government they've voted in more or less approximates to the government they want."

"You mean they actually vote for the lizards?"

"Oh yes," said Ford with a shrug, "of course."

"But," said Arthur, going for the big one again, "why?"

"Because if they didn't vote for a lizard," said Ford, "the wrong lizard might get in. Got any gin?"
98
Ah, and for the record I am not a Tea Bagger, I voted for the right lizard (the one furthest to the left with any chance), I just wish that he would walk the walk.
99
I am really hoping that November 3rd we see some action.
100
To all those who're complaining that Obama's message doesn't mean much in the light of his lukewarm "advocacy": Think about why he did it.

He's obviously not the most enthusiastic LGBT supporter--but still, he felt it was a good idea to contribute to the IGBP. Was it a sudden impulse to help the kids? Maybe, but unlikely. This is the White House we're speaking of. They don't do anything publicity-related without careful calculation.

Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if Hilary Clinton's vid was a weather-balloon--gauge reactions to decide if it'd be a good idea for the President to do one or not.

And they decided it was!

In today's society, despite all its obvious flaws and problems, the POTUS and his spinmeisters decided that it's better for his image to come out supporting LGBT teens than not. Can you imagine that happening fifty years ago? Twenty? No matter who the President was, they couldn't have afforded to come out to support LGBT teens like that then because it would have been political suicide. It'd have brought them too much political hate and ruined chances at re-election/election for the next candidate of their party.

But today, the POTUS thinks society is such that supporting LGBT teens will garner him more support than it'll lose him!

This is HUGE, people, no matter Obama's politics and private stance on LGBT.

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