Obama's Big Gay Speech

President Obama addressed the Human Rights Campaign this weekend, becoming only the second President to address the largest LGBT group in the country. While his speech deserves an A+ for passion, there were a few too many missed opportunities to walk away from this speech feeling completely satisfied with the direction the Obama administration is heading in the march for equal rights.

First, the good. Obama nailed a few lines, especially in his praise of the fight that Judy and Denis Shepard have led over the past ten years to fight for hate crimes legislation, after their son, Matthew Shepard, was killed because he was gay. Those hate crimes laws are due to be signed into law as early as this week by Obama, delivering a long-sought victory to advocates for gay rights.

The other point that Obama nailed is the interconnection of LGBT issues with all sorts of political battles, from health care to education.

"There is not a single issue that my administration deals with on a daily basis that doesn’t touch on the lives of the LGBT community," said Obama. "But our common ideals are a force far stronger than a division that some might sow."

Lastly, Obama dropped a few promises that he better be prepared to keep. He announced that he would be the President that dismantles "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," and that his administration would work hard to make sure that nobody was fired from their job simply because of sexual orientation or gender identity. Powerful rhetorical points, indeed, but that's just it: they're rhetorical, not substantive.

The giant pink elephant in the room that Obama failed to address is the fact that in Maine, anti-gay activists are trying to steal rights away from gays and lesbians. Tonight would have been the prime opportunity for Obama to say before a national audience, "Maine should vote No on Question 1." He didn't do that, and he could have.

In fact, the closest Obama got to addressing the issue of marriage equality was this nugget:

We will see an America where we recognize relationships between two men and two women just as much as we admire relationships between a man and a woman.

No word on when that will happen. Only that one day we'll see it.

Failing to mention Maine royally stinks, especially after the debacle of Prop 8 last year where anti-gay activists all too easily used Obama to champion "traditional marriage." Obama could have put the kibash on those kinds of tactics with a simple nod to Maine. It's a shame he didn't.

Again, on style and passion, Obama deserves an A+. Nobody can give a speech like this President.

Now the question becomes when do we stop getting speeches, and start getting specifics. Better yet, when will we get a President who can say those two magical words: "marriage equality"?