Gay rights and the Big Picture

From the NY Times:

In the words of David Mixner, a writer, gay activists are beginning to wonder, “How much longer do we give him the benefit of the doubt?” Last weekend, Richard Socarides, who advised President Bill Clinton on gay issues, published an opinion piece in The Washington Post headlined, “Where’s our fierce advocate?”

Tobias Wolff, a law professor at the University of Pennsylvania who was Mr. Obama’s top campaign adviser on gay rights, said the president needed time to build political consensus. “I think he has a genuine sense,” Mr. Wolff said, “that in order to move these issues forward you need broader buy-in than you are going to get if you poke a stick in too many people’s eyes.”

I wanted to echo what Professor Wolff mentioned above. President Obama has taken a lot of flack (it comes with the job!) for being irresolute or vague in his policy positions during an already uncertain time. People are looking for a leader that takes firm stands on issues, and reassures the public with certainty in all areas. Its not that President Obama doesn't embody these qualities, but with all due respect, this just isn't his style. Unlike his predecessor, Obama is not ideologically intractable. He is a consensus builder, a pragmatist, and a firm believer in the idea that the change he wants to create is centrifugal--that is, it requires the action of everyone outside of Washington. He understands that to placate our collective fears about the economy, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, climate change, etc. requires careful consideration of all sides of the argument, not catering to special interests or partisan politics.

No doubt many people (myself included) will be frustrated in the short run with the slow pace in progressive policy making, no matter how high our approval rating for President Obama. Nonetheless, I am optimistic that President Obama's consensus building tactics and deliberate political strategies will pay long run dividends in the form of real, sustainable change. There is a time for quick, experimental policy making (FDR, and to an extent President Obama, did quite a bit of this in his first 100 days), and there is a time for careful, deliberate consensus building to usher in a new era of progressivism. I think for the most part, President Obama's style is the latter.