Originally Posted By: the G-man
 Originally Posted By: Jim Jackson
I'm voting for Hillary today.


As noted before, Hillary seems to have more gay support than Obama. You and MEM are examples of that.

This is sort of interesting. If "Will and Grace" has taught us anything, one would think that gay men would be flocking to the handsome African-American male, not the dieselish old lady.


As I recall, early on in the campaign, Obama had a strained relationship with the gay community over statements made from one of his key supporters which he took a long time to repudiate.

EDIT: It was his campaign manager, another one of those so called "ex gays". Donnie McClurkin, a gospel singer (and Bush supporter) who advocates that gays can (and should) be "cured" emceed an Obama fundraiser. The Obama campaign spokesman blasted gays at Gospel concert; a white preacher and Obama said nothing for a long time afterwards.

Per the NYT, the anti-gay activist turned the entire final half hour of the concert into an anti-gay harangue:

 Quote:
The whole controversy might have been forgotten in the swell of gospel sound except Mr. McClurkin turned the final half hour of the three-hour concert into a revival meeting about the lightning rod he has become for the Obama campaign.

He approached the subject gingerly at first. Then, just when the concert had seemed to reach its pitch and about to end, Mr. McClurkin returned to it with a full-blown plea: “Don’t call me a bigot or anti-gay when I have suffered the same feelings,” he cried.

“God delivered me from homosexuality,” he added. He then told the audience to believe the Bible over the blogs: “God is the only way.” The crowd sang and clapped along in full support....

Mr. McClurkin’s support for Mr. Obama could signal to some black evangelical voters that race and religion are more important than Mr. Obama’s support for gay rights.[/b]


That was one of his early gaffes which he's since corrected. Obama's relations with the gay community were off to a great start in January. Obama had just addressed the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, MLK's own church (text of the speech and video here), and Obama went out of his way in the speech to call the black community to task for having "scorned our gay brothers and sisters instead of embracing them."

Not bad, considering candidates don't usually admonish their own in order to get votes.