On Feb 25, 2011, at 2:25 PM, Michael Pollak wrote:
> The tricky thing about all this is the sharp disjuncture between economic and social issues.
Ain't dat da troot?
In a move straight out of Walter Benn Michaels' playbook, Obama is clearly "pivoting" (as they say) on same-sex marriage to throw a bone to liberals disillusioned by his terrible economic policy. I'm not just making this up - I read it in this morning's NYT:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/25/us/politics/25marriage.html
> Others, like Kerry Eleveld, editor of EqualityMatters.org, a new Web site, say Mr. Obama appears to be evaluating the politics of gay rights issues differently since the positive response to the don’t ask, don’t tell repeal from people on the political left, many of whom have criticized him over issues like health care, climate change and immigration.
>
> “He got this big bump from it in terms of the progressive base, and didn’t get a whole lot of heat, and I think that has given him a little more heart in feeling like L.G.B.T. issues aren’t as toxic as a lot of people have been painting them for the past 20 years,” she said.